


Fox Sleep

by flyingfoxtopus



Series: Domesticated Foxes [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Rogers, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Major Original Character(s), No one talks to anyone else, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), steve loves bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-01-02 14:02:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 58
Words: 154,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21162827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingfoxtopus/pseuds/flyingfoxtopus
Summary: Four months.It has been four months since Steve failed once again to save someone he loves. Four months since Amy stayed behind to give them time to get the hostages out.He's doing alright... At least that's what he tells himself. He's working. Finishing off Hydra has been a pretty good distraction. He has his friends. The Avengers, Sam, Peggy, they all take care of him. He's got the search for Bucky. That's going... less well... Sam was right. Short of going door to door in the Balkans they were rapidly running out ideas on that front.He's fine. He's fine. He hardly ever thinks about her. Certainly not all the time every day... He's fine.They finally have a lead on Loki's sceptre. If he just takes it one day at a time everything will be fine.





	1. Compartmentilization is key

**Author's Note:**

> Fox sleep is a slightly obscure idiom for feigning sleep while actually being aware of everything that is going on around you. It alludes to the idea that foxes sleep with one eye open and are always ready. Do with that information what you will.
> 
> Up dates Mondays and Thursdays.

D: I have a lead  
  
The simple text confused Natasha. There weren’t very many things Daisuki would be texting her about in the first place. Even fewer that would need investigation. Had he found the person who had ordered Kiki’s abduction? Or maybe he was still working on the Winter Soldier investigation in Ayame’s memory. He couldn’t have a lead on Ayame. She had to be dead. Nat had seen the explosion, and the satellite photos of the results. There was no way Dai could have found her.  
  
He had a lead on the people who had kidnapped Kiki. That had to be it. They hadn’t been there when Amy died. Dai had finally tracked them down. Dai would want revenge. Nat wouldn’t mind a little herself. Which given that he had been Amy’s left hand, and Amy understood her like no one ever had, Dai probably suspected. It made sense that he would keep her in the loop. She wanted to be there when he killed the people who had taken Amy from them. She wondered if Steve would want to, or if he would disapprove...  
  
“Nat, get ready to lock and load, we drop in five.” Steve called settling his shield on his bike.  
  
Nat shoved her phone back into her belt and climbed into the jeep’s driver’s seat. She would call Dai after this mission. Once she knew more, she would tell Steve. If this went well, they would have the sceptre and there would be lots of time for personal investigations.  
  
*****  
  
Tony looked to Steve. “Who doesn’t like revels? Captain?”  
  
“Hopefully this puts an end to both the Chitauri and Hydra. So yes. Revels.” Steve did his best to smile at his friends. He appreciated Tony’s consideration. He knew he hadn’t been much fun the last couple months. Not since he had lost Amy. She had wanted him to be happy and he was going to at least try. They had saved the world and stopped a mad Nazi scientist from experimenting on children. That had to count as a good day.  
  
*****  
  
“Find a place in Brooklyn yet?” Sam asked looking down at the party.  
  
“I don’t think I can afford a place in Brooklyn.” Steve snorted. He had hoped he could buy a place in the building he and Bucky had lived in before the war. Or maybe the garage they had planned to buy and move their families into after the war. Both had been renovated and were too 'hot' for him to justify paying for.  
  
“Home is home. You know.” Sam shrugged. Steve hadn’t been happy living in the tower. Not since he had lost Amy. A place of his own might help. It couldn’t be easy living in the tower. Not with all the Avengers living on top of one another. Steve could use some space to mourn properly without a bunch of well-meaning geniuses and hero’s trying to help him be happy.  
  
Steve felt his stomach plummet. Home. He didn’t have a home anymore and he didn’t think he ever would again. Bucky had been his home. Peggy had been his home. Amy… And he had lost all of them. Bucky was missing. Amy was Dead. Peggy forgot who he was half the time. He tried to smile reassuringly at Sam. Tonight was a celebration. He didn’t want to drag the mood down.  
  
Sam clapped him on the shoulder. Steve was recovering. Slowly, but he was. For now, Sam would give him a few minutes to collect himself. He would go catch up with all the people that both he and Colonel Rhodes knew. It was amazing how small the world was at the top.  
  
Steve wondered where Thor was. He needed to get drunk.  
  
*****  
  
Natasha’s phone buzzed. She wondered who would text her tonight. Almost everyone she knew was at this party, unless.... She set her glass down and fished the phone out of the pocket of her black and white dress. Dai’s number lit up the screen. A text with an attached photo.  
  
D: I got her.  
  
Nat scrambled to open the photo. A black-eyed Amy grinned painfully out of a hospital bed, supported by Dai and a man who could only be her brother. She looked like she had been through hell, her hair was gone, she was horribly gaunt with a dark bruise surrounding the IV site on her arm.  
  
A new text from Ayame’s number buzzed in.  
  
A: I lived bitch!  
  
A: When are you guys going to come see me?  
  
A: I think Steve and I need to have a talk.  
  
A jarring thought hit Nat. How was she going to tell Steve what was going on? She hadn’t told him about the earlier text from Dai. There hadn’t really been anything to tell. That’s what she told herself. There was no point in him mourning twice. Tomorrow, she would tell him tomorrow. There would be a lecture for not telling him sooner, but that was true now too. They would enjoy the night, tomorrow they would deal with this revelation.  
  
N: ASAP Good to have you back Vixen.  
  
“Is that one of Fredrick's dresses?” Steve leaned against the wall next to her.  
  
Nat slipped her phone back into her dress. “Yes. It has pockets.”  
  
“I’m glad they still looking after you. You deserve the world Nat. It is good to know that someone else sees it too.” He slung an arm around her neck and kissed her temple. He had taken off his jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. His skin was even warmer than normal.  
  
Nat looked up at him amused. She didn’t think anyone else would notice the slight looseness in his movements, or that his eyes were brighter than normal. “Did Thor get you drunk again?”  
  
“Only a little.” Steve grinned. His friends were here. He had called Peggy this afternoon and she had known who he was. The world was calm. The weight in his chest that was Amy was light for the first time in months. “It’s a good night Nat. It's a good night.”  
  
Tomorrow. She would tell him everything tomorrow. Let him enjoy tonight. She punched him in the shoulder. “You get sappy when you’re tipsy.”  
  
He squeezed her again. “You’re my family. If I can’t be sappy with you, who can I be sappy with?”  
  
“Go play some more pool with Sam.” She ducked out from under his arm laughing. “I’ll take you and Thor out for hangover breakfast in the morning. Since we’re family.” She would tell him at breakfast, and they would work out a plan from there. Steve was going to want to remember the next couple days for a very long time.  
  
Steve laughed and let her sashay away. Full skirt swaying like a bell. Home was home. He still had people who cared about him. He still had his friends. Things weren’t all bad. He touched the compass in his pocket with its black fox charm attached by a silk cord. His girls wanted him to be happy. He had to at least try for them.  
  
*****  
  
Steve found Natasha on the back porch, sitting on the swing with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was brooding and he wasn’t convinced it entirely because they had just lost. “Penny for your thoughts.” He said taking the seat next to her.  
  
She rocked the swing gently. “Everyone thinks this is what we should want.”  
  
Steve looked out at the rolling field and considered everything it represented. “You don’t?”  
  
“No. Amy was right. I’d get bored. I do get bored. I love Laura and the kids, but I come to visit for a couple of days and I’m climbing the walls.” Nat ran a hand through her hair irritably. “What about you? Do you long for a simple quiet life?”  
  
“Can you imagine Peggy in a place like this? Or worse Amy? She’d starve to death within a week.” Steve laughed harshly. None of the People in his life belonged in a place like this. Not really. “Bucky might be able to figure it out, but he was a city boy at heart. Let’s face it Nat normal stable lives aren’t for us.”  
  
“I want someone to share my life with though.” She leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
Steve wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. “You and me both, sister. You and me both.”  
  
“Is this the part where you say at least we have each other?” She should tell him now. Tell him that he still has a chance. That Amy wasn’t dead and if they could just stop the killer robots trying to destroy the world, he could be happy again. She wasn’t sure it would help though. And the last thing they needed was a distracted Cap.  
  
“Nah. You already know that.” Steve squeezed her tighter and wondered if he should ask what she had seen in those nightmare visions. He wouldn’t. He was avoiding thinking about his and he wouldn’t blame her for doing the same.  
  
*****  
  
“No way we all get through this.” Tony stared into the night.  
  
Steve looked at his friend. “I got no plans tomorrow night.” That’s what he would have said two years ago. That there was nothing keeping him here so going out in a blaze of glory wasn’t the worst thing. Three months ago, he would have told Tony 'Yes we will, we have plans we can’t miss.’ Or 'You want to be the one to tell Amy and Pepper that we did something as stupid as die?' How did he end up back here? A world where millions 'loved' him, and no one knew him. Amy was dead. Peggy didn’t remember him. Bucky was in the wind. So yeah, he had no plans tomorrow night.  
  
He held his compass but didn’t open it. He didn’t need to. He knew where he was going. Knew that Peggy would back this decision if she knew about it. Amy’s small black fox statue dangled free at the end of the compass’ cord. His girls were with him in spirit. He gave the compass a final squeeze and tucked it back into his belt. He might be back with Amy sooner than he had expected. He hoped Peggy and Bucky would take their time joining them, he was in no rush.  
  
*****  
  
The helicarier landed them safely in the Baltic sea, rescue boats from neighbouring countries already converging on their position. Tony stood next to Steve on the stern staring out at the horizon. “What now?” He asked. From his voice he was still in shock.  
  
“We head home. Back to New York.” Steve was deeply tiered, he felt ready to sleep for a week.  
  
Nat winced behind him. It was time. “No, we don’t. Or at least you don’t. You need to go to Japan.”  
  
“What are you talking about Nat?” Steve turned to face her perplexed. “Why would I need to go to Japan?” Had something else happened already? Was Amy’s family alright?  
  
Nat chewed her lip wondering were to start. He was going to be pissed. He was going to be ecstatic. He didn’t need details. They could fill him in on the other end. “Amy’s alive. She’s in a hospital in Kyoto. She wants to see you.”


	2. A Hospital Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What. I'm not _evil_.

“Steve!” Dai waved him over to the information desk. “Fifth floor end of the hall on the left. I will be up as soon as I talk to her doctors.” He patted Steve on the shoulder and headed after a nurse without looking back.  
  
“Wait-“ Steve tried to call after Amy’s cousin but he was already gone.  
  
Steve’s head was spinning as he found the elevator. The past twenty-four hours had been an emotional roller coaster and he still wasn’t sure how to process anything. The world wasn’t going to end, and Amy was still alive. If someone told him that Bucky was sitting in Tony’s lab looking for help getting his arm unstuck, he would believe them in a heartbeat. It was just that kind of day.  
  
*****  
  
He froze in the doorway. It was real. It was Amy. His Amy. She looked peaceful, asleep in her hospital bed. Her head was wrapped in a painted silk scarf. A silk robe covered a soft cotton wrap top, both pushed up on her right arm for an IV. The thin hospital blanket hadn’t been replaced and was tucked tightly around her hips. She was here. She was _alive._ He felt his knees bucking with relief. The entire flight here he hadn’t entirely believed that it was true.__  
  
It wasn’t until Ken shifted in his seat that Steve fully took in the presence of a second person in the room. Amy’s brother raised a finger to his lips. He slipped silently from the chair in the corner. Crossing to Steve he leaned in so they could talk without waking her. “She’s fine. Dai is off trying to convince her medical team that giving her opioids really is a bad idea and she will be fine without serious pain killers. For the fifth time this week.”  
  
“Why is it that hard?” If Amy didn’t want painkillers and she didn’t need them, then it should be easy enough to stop proscribing them.  
  
Ken rolled his eyes in frustration. “Her injuries are pretty extensive and since she isn’t actually _allergic_, they think it is cruel to withhold them. But she doesn’t want them.”  
  
“Why not?” He was getting whiplash here. She was hurt badly enough that the doctors genuinely thought she needed painkiller, why wouldn’t she take them? Steve felt his heart speed up at the idea of Amy in pain. He couldn’t protect her from this. He hadn’t been able to protect her at all.  
  
A soft voice from the bed interrupted his spiraling panic.  
  
“I can’t keep the nightmares away. My brain gets all fuzzy. I can’t always separate what is real and what is just a memory.” She hated it here. She hated hospitals. Hated people touching her. Hated not being in control. She wouldn’t even be here if she didn’t need treatment they couldn’t handle at Katsura. The last couple of day had been a long stretch of delaying a panic attack. Right now though, she felt better than she had in months.  
  
Amy’s eyes were open. Her gaze was fixed on Steve’s face. Drinking in the sight of him, she didn’t believe he was here the same why he hadn’t believed she was alive. She kept talking, as if explaining would help stop him from disappearing. “I stabbed an orderly with a syringe. You would think that sort of thing would qualify as a serious negative reaction, it just means they want to restrain me.”  
  
“Which would only make things worse” Ken sighed and turned back to the bed. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. “You know I can’t sleep with you in the room.”  
  
Ken crossed his arms on his chest and frowned at her. “And you know I can’t leave you alone.”  
  
“Stupid rule.” Amy grumbled easing herself into a more upright position.  
  
“You stabbed an orderly!” Ken threw his arms up in exasperation. Steve felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. This was not the first thing they had had this conversation. “I swear if Matt wasn’t on deployment right now, I would make him come look after you, maybe you’d listen to _him._” Amy looked at him quizzically. He sighed. “Yeah I know you wouldn’t. Fuck, I need a break.”  
  
“I can sit with her.” Steve flicked his eyes between the siblings. “If that’s alright?” Amy smiled at him softly. That was all the encouragement he needed from her.  
  
“Take the chair. I’ll be back in a half hour, hopefully with Dai and some answers.” Amy’s brother kissed her forehead tenderly. She might be infuriating, but she was his sister. “Don’t overexert yourself.”  
  
Steve couldn’t seem to move once Ken left. The room seemed too big with just the two of them.  
  
“Hi....” Amy whispered. He was here. He had come back.  
  
She looked so small resting against the pillows. So fragile. Steve was afraid to touch her. Afraid that his hand would pass straight through her and this whole illusion would vanish. “You’re alive.”  
  
“Yeah.” She shrugged weakly. She shouldn’t be. But she was. It was hard to regret that part.  
  
“God Amy.” Steve half collapsed across the bed. Catching as much of her as he could in his arms. He pressed his head into her chest, desperate to hear her heart beating.  
  
Amy ran a hand softly over his hair. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“For surviving?” He could almost laugh. It was ridiculous. What could Amy have to apologise for? He was the one who had failed to protect her. He should have gone back for her. He should never have let her out of his site in the first place.  
  
“For leaving you.” Her voice cracked with unshed tears.  
  
“Oh Amy.” She blamed herself, he blamed himself. God they were fucking Shakespearian. All they needed was a lost letter or a conversation taken out of context. He cupped her face possessively. He didn’t have the words to explain everything to her. To tell her that he would never blame her for something like this. To tell her how eternally grateful he was that she had some how managed to come back from the dead. In leu of words he pressed a kiss into her soft lips.  
  
Amy kissed back. Curling her fingers into his hair and pulling him closer. Steve braced a hand beside her so he could lean down. Finally, he pulled back to let her catch her breath. He rested his forehead against hers and took a deep shaky breath of his own.  
  
Amy stroked the back of his neck. “You don’t hate me?”  
  
She sounded nervous. As if she still expected him to reject her. As if she though he wouldn’t forgive her anything as long as she was back. He kissed her again. Softly this time. Just a brush of lips. “I could never.”  
  
*****  
  
Dai smiled at the site of the pair when he returned. Steve had pulled the chair closer to the bed so he could stay holding her hand. Amy had rolled half onto her side to talk more easily with him. Heads together they made a pretty picture. His cousin looked more like herself than she had since he had picked her up in Mongolia.  
  
Dai dropped heavily into the room’s second chair. Managing to tap his knuckles against Amy’s on the way. “So, you can stop causing trouble for five minuets.”  
  
Ken followed his cousin into the room, also looking better from the interlude. Though that might also have something to do with the large coffee he was carrying. He perched himself on the dresser by the door with a contented sigh. “Probably just a fluke.”  
  
Amy made a face at her new visitors. Steve smiled and ran a hand over her silk wrapped head affectionately. “He being mean to you sweetheart?”  
  
“Only when she is being a spoilt brat. Which is pretty much anytime she gets board.” Dai grinned as his cousin blushed. “Anyway, you are here now you can take a turn entertaining her. The concussion is the main thing making her a brat right now. No loud noises. No reading. No screens. Not until her concussion heals. She is going a little crazy.” He winked at Amy, who stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
Steve frowned at Dai's blasé description of her condition. “She blew up a major nuclear site and the worst she came away with is a concussion. You could be a little more sympathetic.”  
  
Dai waved a hand dismissively. “I agree, it is completely reasonable to get a concussion while stopping an attack on a major population center. That isn’t how she got it.”  
  
Ken was clearly trying to smoother a grin when he interjected. “She was being an idiot and thought that horse back riding while suffering from radiation poisoning and sepsis was a good idea. She fell off and hit her head on a rock. Now she is behaving like a petulant child because she isn’t allowed to do anything until her brain heals.”  
  
Amy glared at her family. “I’m not behaving like a child.”  
  
“Tell me again why you wouldn’t eat your Jell-O?” Ken asked, eyebrows disappearing into his shaggy hair.  
  
Amy pouted and avoided her brother’s eyes. “I don’t like the orange kind.”


	3. Things No One Want's to Talk About

The hospital had quieted down for the night. The hallway lights were dimmed. They were finally alone. Steve cradled Amy gently under an arm. He was only half in the bed one foot flat on the floor. Precariously perched as he was, he was still concerned that she didn’t have enough room. It had taken a lot of manoeuvring to get him in around the wires and the IV. Really, he shouldn’t be in the bed at all, he was probably crowding her. He tried to shift so that she had more space.  
  
Amy gripped the fabric of his shirt and tugged weakly. Steve hid his smile in her scarf. That answered that question. Carefully he lifted her, so she was laying fully on him. She sighed contentedly pressing even closer.  
  
Her weight on top of him was soothing. It had been a very long day and his exhaustion was finally starting to catch up with him. He was starting to drift of when she spoke.  
  
“Why wouldn’t they let me watch the news the last couple of days?” It hadn’t been the doctors. They had been fine with the idea as long as the volume was low, and she didn’t spend too much time looking at the screen, anything to keep her calm. It had been her brother and Dai. They had made excuses and even gone so far as to unplug the rooms TV.  
  
Steve pressed a quick kiss into the top of her head. “You’re not supposed to be watching anything. Screens are bad for your concussion.” At least someone had protected her. She didn’t need to worry about something that had already worked out.  
  
Amy shifted softly against his chest. “There’s blood on your pants.”  
  
It wasn’t an accusation exactly. Just an observation, but it still twinged Steve’s conscience.  
  
“Its not mine.” He stroked her arm reassuringly. A memory of pain shot through his leg. The scrape from the rebar had healed quickly but it had bled before it could. “Most of it isn’t mine.” He amended.  
  
She tipped her head back to frown at him. How could he have been in that much of a hurry to get here. But those were his uniform pants and combat boots. When she managed to focus long enough to actually think about it, it was obvious that the only things missing from his uniform were the jacket and boot covers. Things that were easy to take off. “You didn’t change first....”  
  
Steve looked down at her incredulous. “Do you go home to change first when you find out someone you love isn’t as dead as you thought they were?”  
  
“Yes actually.” Amy blinked at him. Surprised that he would even ask. “But Matt went and got us all worried for nothing so that’s on him. Besides you normally have a change of clothes on the jet in case you need to play civilian for a while.”  
  
Steve let his head fall back onto the pillow. That was another problem he didn’t want to deal with right now. “Bruce.... Bruce took off in the jet and we can’t find him. Or the Hulk took of and we can’t find him? It’s kind of unclear which.”  
  
Amy snuggled closer to him comfortingly. “He’ll turn up. There are very few places on this planet where people can hide from Natasha and I.”  
  
Steve held a pair of fingers up where she could see them. “Two words”  
  
Amy’s shoulders tensed. She hated failure. “Yeah well, Bruce isn’t one of the greatest covert operatives of the last century. And you’re avoiding the question.”  
  
Steve pressed his face into the soft silk covering her head. Everything felt like a bad dream when he was holding her. “I don’t even know where to start.”  
  
When he finally did start the words poured out of him. It was good to be able to talk to his Amy again. She understood. He confessed everything to her. From his frustration over the lack of communication. To how he had accepted his death and the strange sense of loss he had experienced when there was hope again. She was a good listener asking questions and reassuring him when he hesitated.  
  
“And then I came here…” His story petered off lamely. He was drained. Completely wrung out. It felt great. He closed his eyes and let his breathing find a rhythm with hers. “We’re going to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. Everything I did to tear it down and we still need it.”  
  
“You need what it should have been, not what it was. Mixed with red ink, anything turns red.” Amy ran her hand slowly up and down his arm. “Start over. Make it better. I can look over the personnel checks if you like.” She sounded half asleep muffled against his chest.  
  
“I appreciate the offer. I might take you up on it.” Steve kissed her head softly. His girl back and ready to be there for him without question. They didn’t need to talk about what had happened before. They had each other now and that was what mattered.  
  
Her fingers continued tracing the curve of his bicep. He could feel her heartbeat slowing, her breath evening out in sleep. She jerked every time she almost drifted off. He wondered when the last time she had really slept was. Not while she had been in the hospital. Not if her brother and the staff had insisted on being in the room the entire time. He knew she couldn’t sleep with anyone else in the room. And probably not before that either. Not while she was in hostile territory. He tore himself away from thoughts of Amy in danger. She was safe with him. The least he could do was protect her while she got some rest. “Sleep sweetheart. I’ve got you.”  
  
She did. Cradled against his chest, Amy let herself fall into a deep REM sleep for the first time in a long time.  
  
*****  
  
Amy woke with a strangled scream just before dawn. The nightmares had getting worse. When she let herself actually sleep instead of just doze, they were trapping her in mind. Dragging her into the dark places she avoided.  
  
Steve started from his doze. He tired to pull her closer to him. His hand brushed her hip and she yelped in pain. The violent jerk that accompanied her yelp almost carried her out of the bed. Steve caught her and lifted her back into his lap as carefully as he could. He cupped a hand around the base of her skull. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”  
  
Amy turned her face into his chest. Breathing ragged. She was safe. Steve was here. She was back in safe territory if not all the way home yet. And Steve was _here_, which meant he was safe too.  
  
Steve let her breath through the panic. Her nails bit into his chest where she was clutching his shirt in panic. He kept his arms around her, careful not to hold too tight in case she felt trapped. She was quivering. He could feel her ribs through the thin fabric of her wrapped shirt. She was thin. Too thin. Her soft curves were almost completely gone. The hand on the back of her head slipped under her scarf, his fingers found the barest fuzz of hair covering her scalp. He’d had enough buzz cuts in his life to know what two weeks growth felt like. All that beautiful hair, gone. He went to pull his hand away, his fingers brushed over a ragged scab.  
  
He wanted to hold her close so no one could ever hurt her again. He wanted to run out and find anyone who had contributed to her pain and make sure they regretted their actions. Neither was a going to help her right now. Right now, he needed to be sure he wasn’t making things worse. “Where did I hurt you?”  
  
She eased her loose cotton pants down so he could see the mottled bruise spreading over her hip. “Bone bruise.” She said tersely.  
  
Steve rested his head against hers. She had been missing for months. Now she was back, but not intact. “Do I get to ask what happened after we left you?” He needed to know. He was almost afraid of the answer.  
  
Amy closed her eyes. The memory of darkness and a crushing weight washing over her. Of her flesh burning and tearing. Of icy cold piercing her to the bone. “You can always ask.” She pulled his arms tighter around her to keep the memories from overwhelming her.  
  
“I used an EMP to deal with the reactor. It deactivated the missiles too but caused a meltdown. The… The ceiling collapsed on my way out. I was… Trapped for a few days.” The darkness. The searing brightness. Cold water, or maybe it had been blood dripping down her back.  
  
“A few days?” Steve stroked her cheek with a thumb. She was trying to protect him. He could hear it in her ridged sentences.  
  
“A week…. I think…. When I got out most of the emergency response had left. I fought my way though what was left.” Her swords had been lost in the collapse, leaving her with only a short knife. She could still feel the jarring sensation of her blade biting into flesh. “I got away, but I was stuck deep behind enemy lines.”  
  
The last time he thought he had lost her flashed through his mind. It had taken less than a day to find her that time. “Your tracker?”  
  
She shook her head, understanding why he was asking. He knew she had a tracker, in her ribs. He also knew that Dai would have been there is a second if it had worked. “EMP killed it too. Any other country I would have stolen a car and made it back to the boarder in a week.”  
  
Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He could have had her back so much soon. “But North Korea is North Korea, so no car and the closest boarder was the DMZ….”  
  
“You’ve been doing research.” Amy felt a comforting warmth growing in her chest. He hadn’t forgotten about her. She would probably have to thank Natasha for the fact he hadn’t tried to storm the DMZ on his own.  
  
In the dim light from the hall he could see her small fragile smile. He smiled back. They were safe and together. “I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole.”  
  
She launched back into the story before she could talk herself out of telling him. “The trains were too unreliable and too packed to jump. I ended up walking most of the way back. It was slow, people in North Korea are paranoid about strangers travelling. I had to keep moving to avoid getting caught which meant that I never got a chance to really heal.” Cold. Memories of overwhelming cold and tearing hunger pulling at her. The icy fire burning in her veins that kept her moving.  
  
“You walked?” He remembered the fear of walking back across occupied territory after rescuing Bucky, and he had the 107th backing him up. She had been injured and alone.  
  
“To China. There were a couple of hiccups on the way.” Two army patrols, seven civilians who thought capturing a foreign spy would help improve their status and an overly enthusiastic boarder guard. “I made it across the boarder. China is better at digital surveillance. I’m wanted in China…. I have been since I was fifteen…. I couldn’t risk making contact until I got out.”  
  
“So, more walking.” She walked across two hostile countries alone. It was a miracle she had made it back in four months. It was a miracle she had made it back at all. He cuddled her closer and started rubbing her back. Mostly to sooth her. Partly to reassure himself that she was really here.  
  
Amy closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of his hand. She was nowhere near that place anymore. “More moving at night more living off the land. China had more food than North Korea. If I have to pick a country to trek across again, I’m still picking Indonesia.”  
  
Steve frowned in confusion. Indonesia? How had she ended up there? “When were you in Indonesia?”  
  
“When I was thirteen. Dai and I had to cross Indonesia after we were captured on a mission.” Amy looked up at him equally confused. She was sure that he knew about her childhood. Dai had told her that they had talked about it, so had her brother Matt.  
  
He sighed and returned to rubbing her back. That was further in the past than they needed to deal with tonight. He would come back for details later…. That and why she was wanted in China. All that mattered right now was how he had gotten her back. “How did you get out?”  
  
“Through Mongolia. It was the closest country I had contacts in.” Amy arched into his touch. His presence was so calming. She felt better even in the short time he had been here. “It’s also a very spread out country. It took me a while to find someone who knew my contacts. Longer for my contacts to get a hold of Dai. He came right away when they made contact. It took about four days to get me back here.”  
  
Dai’s comment from earlier in the day clicked in his head. Big spread out country, known for its horsemen. “Mongolia is where you got your concussion.”  
  
“Yeah…” He could almost feel the heat radiating off her blush. “Dai is right, it was stupid. I should have let someone double with me. But I’m proud and didn’t want to admit I needed help. Horses don’t like me at the best of times. I passed out and fell off.”  
  
“You’re stubborn. I like it.” Steve kissed her long and slow, savouring the moment. The world was safe and so was she. Stubborn she maybe but it was good to have her back.


	4. Recovering at the Fox Pavilion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter really short? Yes. Was it originally the end of the third chapter? Yes. Did I move it because I thought it undermined the sweetness that I ended that chapter with? Also yes. Don't get used to two chapters a post, I'm back to one at a time on Thursday.

It was like that for three days. During the day Steve would take conference calls or responding to email to set up the new Avengers headquarters. The good people of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be folded back in, those of them that wanted back in anyway, and the world would have her protectors back complete with back up staff.  
  
Amy spent her days undergoing a battery of tests and arguing with doctors, more than one of whom left her room in a hurry after they said something that displeased her. The doctors thought that she should stay in hospital for at least another month, just in case any further complications arose.  
  
At night they would curl together in Amy’s hospital bed. Steve cradling her carefully so she didn’t have to put any weight on her sore side. Amy would fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. Their nights were regularly interrupted by nightmares. Not always Amy’s, Steve had them too. When they woke up, they would talk, whispering to each other in the dark.  
  
The second day Ken ran out of leave and had to return to his squad. Amy sent him off with some good-natured ribbing about paying him back for his tender care the next time he was hurt.  
  
The morning of the fourth day Dai burst into the room with a smile. He was trailed by a handful of doctors and nurses looking sheepish. “Pack your things I’m taking you home.”  
  
“Really?” Amy struggled to sit up. Steve cupped his arm around her shoulders and eased her into a sitting position.  
  
Dai nudge the lead doctor, spurring him to speak. “The ketilation seems to have done it’s job. Your radiation levels are back with in safe perimeters. At this point it is mostly a matter of rest and recovery. We are concerned about the possibility of a relapse in regard to the systemic infection you had earlier. With out proper monitoring....”  
  
“But since you are being released to the care of a trained medical professional and your blood work has come back perfectly clean for the last few days...” Interjected the younger female doctor behind him.  
“We have agreed to release you.” The older doctor finished with a stern look at his young colleague.  
  
The announcement led to a flurry of activity. Last vitals checks. Tracking down Amy’s personal things that had gotten scattered around the room. Steve and Dai had to chase Amy back to bed several times. She kept insisting she was well enough to do things without help and then having to hold onto something to stop herself falling over.  
  
Amy threw a fit when they brought in the wheelchair. Insisting that she could walk while Dai insisted that she would exhaust herself if she tried. Amy began to argue that the chair was undignified and would make her look like an invalid.  
  
Steve scooped her into his arms. “Let’s compromise. I’ll carry you. You won’t wear yourself out and no one will accuse you of being weak for being carried by Captain America.”  
  
Amy blinked up at him. Slowly her features softened. “Okay.” She murmured tucking her head into the curve of his neck.  
  
*****  
  
Amy allowed Steve to carry her to the car outside the hospital but insisted that she could walk from the main palace building to the fox pavilion. Steve spent the car ride pleading with her to let him carry her while Dai cackled in the front seat. Amy was stubbornly determined that she was not helpless and would be fine on her own. By the time they pulled up to the place complex Steve understood why Dai was laughing. He had put up with a week of this. She was an absolute menace when she was feeling venerable. He would tease her about it later, first they needed to get her to her room without collapsing.  
  
In the end she conceded to holding his arm for the walk. The decorative steppingstones across a stream had seemed charming on his last visit. They were a needless complication this time. Amy crossed them slowly and with reasonable grace, but Steve spent the time cursing everything that wasn’t smooth flat ground.  
  
When they came to the high step into the Fox Pavilion Steve abandoned all pretence and physically lifted her over the obstacle. She grumbled but returned her head to his shoulder for the short trip to the main hall where he set her down.  
  
Ensconced on a mound of pillows, Amy pulled off her silk scarf and scrubbed at her head irritably. Her hair was starting to grow in, and it itched horribly.  
  
Steve dropped to his knees beside her. “Your hair.” He hadn’t seen it when they were in the hospital. She had been so defensive of her scarf.  
  
Amy ran a hand over the fluff of her scalp. She hated how she looked without hair. She would give a lot to have her long raven tresses back. Even more for Korea to never have happened. Steve was staring at it. She should have left the scarf on. “I lost it all thanks to the radiation. Irritating, but it will grow back.”  
  
“It’s white.” Steve rubbed the soft fuzz of hair.  
  
Amy leaned into the caress. Steve shifted so he was massaging her scalp, causing her to practically melt into him. “You don’t like it?”  
  
“Just a bit of a shock.” Steve lifted Amy into his lap. Sitting next to her wasn’t enough, he needed more contact. He stroked her head, it was so bright, it must glow in the dark. Was she still as good at hiding with hair like this? “Did you dye it before? I feel like I should have noticed.”  
  
“No, it was naturally black. It turned white on my way home. It’s a family trait, like the eyes.” Amy wrapped her arms around him. Setting her forehead against his collarbone she relaxed into his touch. His hands were so warm, and they stopped her scalp from prickling.  
  
“Your aunt has white hair. I almost forgot.” He brought his other hand up, rubbing circles with his thumbs. From her temples back. It must have been the stress, he decided. Crossing that much hostile territory alone and injured, it was enough stress to turn anyone’s hair white. The hair was still soft, short and prickly as it was. He had always loved that about her hair, the silky feel of it in his hands.  
  
“I don’t think I like it. I might dye it once it grows out a little.” She hated it. It represented something she hadn’t earned, and she would trade it for her old hair in a second.  
  
“You’ll look stunning either way. Besides I’m more interested in what is under the hair.” Steve laughed and lowered his face to hers. Whispering the words into her lips.  
  
It was nothing like kissing her in the hospital. She had felt to fragile, diminished somehow in the sterile environment. Even a few minuets in her own space had brought back some of her fire.  
  
She pressed into his kiss enthusiastically. On her long trek towards safety she had meditated more than really sleeping. Falling into memories to escape her awful situation. His kisses had been her favourite memories to escape into. They were better than she remembered. Burnt caramel and smoke kisses. Warm and sweet and full of love.


	5. Rest and Revelation

They were curled in what Steve was convinced was the only armchair in Amy’s house. Steve had carried it onto the veranda so Amy could lounge in the sun. That sun had gone down almost an hour ago. The night air was starting to cool, but they were comfortable, and Steve hated to disturb Amy when she was as relaxed as she was right now. She dozed, resting in Steve’s lap, head tucked against his neck. Steve tucked the light blanket they had brought out with them more firmly around her, listening distractedly while someone from Stark Industries explained the renovations, they were doing to transform some property Tony owned up state into the new S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. He should be grateful that Tony’s messed up sleep schedule meant that most of these calls took place in the middle of the night in New York and the early evening here. This particular call had gone on for far longer than it should have, and it was starting to grate on his nerves.  
  
The call had been dominated by Tony trying to explain why it was vital that he be allowed to install a new AI to monitor S.H.I.E.L.D. computers and act as an assistant in the residential wing. His arguments all completely ignored the fact that his last attempt at an AI had led to a killer robot trying to end humanity, and that that attempt had been less than a week ago. Steve wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. J.A.R.V.I.S. had been a god send. But Tony needed to be more sensitive to what this would look like from the outside.  
  
“He can be such an idiot sometimes.” Steve grumbled when he finally hung up.  
  
Amy stretched languidly. “He’s an optimist pretending to be a pessimist. You can’t hate him for that.”  
  
“No. But I _can_ use it as leverage every time he has a stupid idea from now on.” He teased cuddling her closer. She rolled her eyes. Steve could feel his mood lightening almost instantly now that he could focus all his attention on her. She was doing so much better now that she was home and eating well. There was colour back in her cheeks and that mischievous spark back in her eyes. There had only been one nightmare between the two of them last night and Steve was optimistic that tonight they could make it all the way through. A couple full nights sleep would work wonders for both of them.  
  
She leaned into the curve of his arm. “What would you have done? If it had worked?”  
  
“I don’t know. Come to you a lot sooner. Maybe I would have been able to stay. Spent my time shamelessly abusing your connections to find Bucky.” He kissed her temple. “Then when I found him, we could both follow you around being bored and useless.”  
  
Amy laughed. “My kept boys. Visiting museums and hosting charity events while I take the diplomatic world by storm.”  
  
Steve gathered Amy in his arms. It was time to get her into bed. He sighed as she curled around him. He would happily be her kept boy if it meant that the world didn’t need saving anymore and he got to spend the rest of his life with her. Bucky being safe and with them would be icing on the cake. “You tease. But that sounds like heaven to me.”  
  
*****  
  
Amy winced as she pulled her shirt over her head. She shouldn’t have slept curled up all day, her muscles were all cramping.  
  
Steve noticed her strained movements. “Stiff sweetheart? Do you want a massage?”  
  
“I’d love one.” She loved her hands on her in any context, but if he could work the knot under her shoulder blade out? She might pledge her fealty to him and forget her country. “There should be some oil in my toy chest.”  
  
He grinned at the mention of her toy chest. He had some wonderful memories of things emerging from that box. Images of her writhing in ecstasy flashed through his mind. He kissed the back of her neck affectionately.  
  
Amy stretched out on the mattress. Steve took a moment to just look at her. He could see her ribs through her skin. That worried him. Before her disappearance her muscles had rippled under her skin with a predatory grace. Now she looked fragile. She needed to eat more if she was going to get her strength back.  
  
The small wood chest Amy called her toy box was easy to find tucked on a lower shelf in the corner. The box was full of adult toys and bottles of different kinds of lube and massage oil. He knelt and flipped it open to reveal the brightly coloured chaos inside. Steve chucked to himself, he had never actually snooped through it before. There were some things in here that he hadn’t seen before. He filed a few of them away in his mind for later. He did love watching her play. He picked up a pretty blue box covered in a swirling butterfly pattern. Scrawled in marker on the side was a note in Kiki’s bubbly writing. _Men are unnecessary. XOX Kiki._ Inside Steve recognised one of Amy’s favourite vibrators. Another box and another note for Kiki. _You absolutely don’t need a guy with this in your life. XOXO Kiki._ Steve laughed at that. So he had Kiki to thank for Amy not finding a boyfriend before him. He would add it to the list of things he owed her.  
  
Under the bottle of oil, he found a strange tangle of straps. He picked it up curiously. It looked like a very strange pair of underwear more than anything else, but what on earth was the knob on the front for? “What’s this?”  
  
Amy rolled onto her side so she could see what he was holding. “It’s a strap on harness.”  
  
“Kiki bought you a strap on?” He knew they were close, but he couldn’t picture them doing anything more intimate than shopping for toys together. They had a playful relationship but nothing like that. At least he hadn’t thought it was like that. “But you like guys.”  
  
“Kiki didn’t buy it for me.” Amy laughed. It was a reasonable guess. Kiki had bought about a third of the more ridiculous things in that box. Most of them as impractical gags. Relentlessly monogamous as she was she had never entirely approved of Amy's bedroom habits. They had been her way to try and limit the number of hearts Amy broke.  
  
“So, you bought it?” Steve frowned at it. _Why_ had she bought it? It was different from everything else in the box. Everything else in there was for designed to give her pleasure. This was different. This was for her partner.  
  
“No. A guy I was sleeping with did. He liked that sort of thing.” She settled back onto her stomach. She had some fond memories of that harness.  
  
  
“He liked….” Steve’s mind reeled at the possibilities. This new world was full of new possibilities.  
  
“He's bisexual and likes to bottom sometimes. He has a hard time finding male partners that don’t want him to top. I like to be in control in the bedroom. It was a good fit.” Before Steve she had mostly indulged in one-night stands. Brian had been an exception. He was a good friend with benefits. They had fun and he never got too attached. He also understood her desire for her partner to just _leave_ when she was done with him. She had never wanted bro cuddle with someone she wasn’t emotionally connected too.  
  
“I didn’t know…” Bisexual. He wondered if Bucky knew there was a word for it now. Some of Bucky’s friends had had _arrangements_ back in the day. Steve couldn’t see the harm as long as no one got hurt.  
  
Amy scoffed. “Come on Steve you know I had sex with other guys. Is it such a shock that some of them were into more exotic things in bed?”  
  
“Are you disappointed that I’m not?” They had good sex, but Steve was under no impression that it was particularly adventurous. He was pretty sure she enjoyed it. It always felt like she enjoyed it.  
  
“Hey now.” Amy nuzzled his neck. Her sweet boy “Vanilla is a great flavor. I like a lot of different flavors, I have tried quite a few, but if I’m only going to have one vanilla is a good choice. It’s a classic for a reason. Good vanilla is better than the boldest flavour done poorly. And you are very good at vanilla.”  
  
“So, he liked when you…” Once and only once Peggy had slipped a finger into his ass in the middle of a blow job. It was the hardest he had ever finished.  
  
“Yes.” Amy smirked up at him wickedly. Steve was thinking about her now, and his pupils had gone huge. Now that was an interesting development.  
  
“And you liked doing it for him?” Visions of Amy kneeling over him with that evil grin on her face. She’s been so sweet the last few days he had almost forgotten how dangerous she could be. He could see it now though, the predatory glint in her eyes. The idea of trying some other flavors was intriguing.  
  
“I did. Besides he always made it worth my while.” He had, but he wasn’t her Steve. Brian had been fun. Nothing more. He had never made her want to purr and rub against him like a cat. Or made her want to spend rainy afternoons lounging under the eves listening to raindrops hitting the gravel. She had never _slept_ with him.  
  
“If I… If I wanted to try a flavour other than vanilla…” The images his mind conjured up at the idea made his brain very confused as to where it should direct his blood flow. His mind was supplying other dark heads to accompany Amy's, a familiar head but Steve couldn’t quite place it.  
  
Amy softened. The tension easing out of her muscles just being around him. He was so sweet when he blushed. “We can try pretty much anything that interests you.” She took the straps out of his hands. Steve was such a people pleaser, and she did love how he looked when he was coming apart. She wouldn’t mind playing with him at all. It would be fun, doing something just for him. “But not tonight. It’s a bit more of an ab workout than I’m up to right now.”  
  
Steve laughed. He had gotten distracted. Today was about her comfort and recovery not his pleasure. “You mean you want the back rub I promised you.”  
  
“Yeeessss.” Amy said flopping on her stomach. “Come put your hands on me.”  
  
Steve couldn’t say no to her when she looked up at him with those big needy eyes. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her spine. “You just relax sweetheart. I’ve got you.”  
  
Amy fell asleep under his firm touch. Her muscles unravelling and warmth spreading through her.  
Steve curled himself around her. With her relaxed in his arms it was easy to let his mind wander back to their earlier conversation. He fell asleep with foggy images of dark heads dancing on the back of his eyelids.  
  
*****  
  
Steve was in the red lit dance hall again. Peggy beaming up at him from his arms. He thought they were alone this time, rotating slowly in the centre of the floor.  
  
There was a flash of colour in the corner of his eye, of purple and of light on metal. He spun to face it. Against his chest Peggy laughed, there was no threat here, she thought the quick turn had been fun.  
  
There was no threat the purple had been Amy’s skirt swirling, the metal Bucky’s hand as he returned his hand to her waist. Bucky wore his old dress uniform. The same one he had worn when they had to meet with important people during the war. To formal meetings and any number of parties. His hair was long, shaggy, the same way Steve remembered it from their fight on the helicarier. Some had washed and brushed it so it fell into Bucky’s eyes in glossy waves. The hand splayed wide on Amy’s back was made of tightly interlocking metal plates. Inside the uniform this was the new Bucky. His eyes were bright again though, bright and free, not untroubled, there was a predatory glint in them that made Steve’s heart skip a beat. This was the new Bucky, the one Steve still hoped to find.  
  
His predatory look was matched by the woman in his arms. Amy smirked from her place against Bucky’s chest, violet eyes sparkling. Eyes that matched her perfectly fitted violet dress. Between that vintage dress and the long dark hair in victory rolls, she looked like she belonged to this part of his life too. Bucky spun her again making her skirt flutter high enough that Steve caught site of the top of Amy’s stockings. Both of them danced like they only had a passing acquaintance with the ground, like fighting. A handful of breaths together then Bucky was flinging her into a new spin or into the air. Unlike the dancers in his original vision they didn’t dance like enemies, they were distinctly on the same side. They danced like allies. Steve could see them talking when they closed, Amy’s red lips brushing the shell of Bucky’s ear. His mouth went dry at the sight.  
  
Their laughter erupted like someone had flipped a switch for sound. Peggy dragged Steve across the dance floor to the other couple. They tumbled together. Peggy and Amy catching each others’ hands whirling away from the men. A distant part of Steve’s brain was surprised to see them dancing together. Even in his dreams he had tried to keep them separate.  
  
“You pick good ones pal.” That was Bucky. Clapping him on the back and giving him an affectionate shake like he was still ninety pounds.  
  
Steve looked at the women, the sky blue and purple skirts blending together. Both fierce. Both flawless. Both his. Steve grinned at his friend. “Better than any of the dames you dragged me out with.”  
  
“Maybe I didn’t always look for dolls I thought would see how great you are.” There was something in Bucky’s voice, something Steve couldn’t place. It was intense. Steve turned his attention from the dancing women to the man beside him. Bucky was looking at him. Eyes raking Steve’s body.  
  
“You sabotaging my love life now jerk?” Steve punched Bucky in the shoulder, doing his best to ignore the effect Bucky’s look was having. The effect it had always had really. Bucky’s looks had rarely been directed at him though. He used to settle for watching Bucky and his latest conquest until it hurt too much to keep watching.  
  
Bucky caught Steve’s wrist before he could pull it back from the punch. He tangled their fingers together. He took a step closer, their hips bumping together. “I’m selfish. I liked being able to come home to you.”  
  
Steve was having trouble breathing. Bucky’s face was close to his now. Too close. Steve tried and failed to pull his eyes away from Bucky’s lips. Lips that were slowly curling up into a knowing smirk. He cleared he throat to make his lungs work again. “S’pose none of the girls you went with would let you leave your socks laying around like me.”  
  
His heart was beating too fast. He had lost site of Peggy and Amy. The sound of their laughed had faded. He and Bucky were alone in the middle of the floor. Bucky’s hands had moved to Steve’s waist under his jacket. Steve could feel them through the thin fabric of his shirt. One burning hot the other icy cold.  
  
“Whatever you have to tell yourself.” The kiss started slow. Bucky closing the last gap between them, catching Steve’s lips with his own.  
  
Bucky tasted sweet and his lips were soft. Steve whimpered and pulled him closer. A rush of warmth flooded his limbs. Everything felt electric. Bucky’s hands moving up his back. Bucky’s tongue tangling with his. Bucky’s hair clutched in his hands.  
  
Steve couldn’t think. No other kiss had made him feel like he was floating like this. Nothing had made him feel quite as safe and excited at the same time. Here in Bucky’s arms he felt like he _belonged._  
  
It was Bucky who the broke the kiss. Steve had needed to breath for an agonisingly long time but had been unwilling to lose the contact. Steve gasped trying to catch his breath. Trying to get his heart to settled down. The feral grin on Bucky’s lips made Steve regret that they had stopped kissing. He wanted to taste that grin.  
  
Bucky pressed their foreheads together. “It’s you and me pal. You and me ‘till the end of the line.”  
  
A red mist drifted around them, obscuring the room. Bucky took a step away from Steve. “’till the end of the line.” The mist swirled around him, engulfing him too. Steve grabbed for him, he couldn’t lose Bucky again. His hands passed through the Space where Bucky had been uselessly.  
  
*****  
  
Steve woke up in Amy’s room. It wasn’t the same as waking up from a nightmare. Nothing about the dream scared him. It didn’t scare him, but it might change everything.  
  
He was in love with Bucky. He had known that he loved Bucky. How had not realised that he was _in_ love with him too. It was the same. It felt _exactly_ that same as realising he was in love with Peggy or Amy.  
  
Amy.  
  
He sat up sharply. Fuck. She was here with him. His Amy. Back from the dead. She had been helping to find Bucky. Helping to find the other person he was in love with. How could he betray her like this? Steve looked down at her sleeping sweetly beside him. He couldn’t hide this from her. He had to tell her.  
  
“Amy. Sweetheart wake up.” Steve whispered squeezing her shoulder gently.  
  
“’s the world ending again already?” Amy grumbled nuzzling into his side. She felt too safe to wake up quickly. In her own bed with Steve beside her. She didn’t want it to end.  
  
Steve winced. This was going to break her heart. “No. Everything is fine. I just need to talk to you.”  
  
“Okay.” Amy blinked sleepily and lay back on the futon. Steve sounded stressed. Was something up with the Avengers and he had to leave? She hadn’t heard his phone. “What’s up?”  
  
“I just had a dream…” Steve drifted off. How did you explain that you were in love with two people…? Three people. He mentally amended. He loved Peggy too. It wasn’t getting any better the more he thought about it. Shit. He just had to tell her.  
  
“A nightmare?” She was more awake now. Brow creased with worry. She didn’t like to think of the nightmares keeping him awake. Not when she was finally able to sleep. If they were that bad, she would use her powers to sooth him. It would make her miserable in the morning, she would probably be sick, but it would be worth it, if he slept soundly. She reached out to stroke the side of his cheek.  
  
Steve captured her hand before she could, he wouldn’t feel right letting her touch him like that when she didn’t know. She deserved better. Deserved someone who could love only her. “No, no. It was a good dream. A very good dream...” He couldn’t shake the memory of that kiss and how good it had felt.  
  
Steve kissed her fingertips. “But it made me realise something and I wouldn’t feel right keeping it from you. You are important to me, but there is someone else who was important to me first, and who I think might be important to me in a similar way.”  
  
Amy took a deep breath. She was sore. She was tired. And she did not want to deal with this right now. “Steve. Baby. Light of my life. I swear if you woke me up at…” she rolled so she could see the clock. “4:26am to tell me that you are in love with Bucky. I will scream. This is the first full night’s sleep I have gotten in the better part of four months. You have been in love with him since 1935. The revelation can wait until morning.” She pulled the comforter back over herself, closing her eyes.  
  
Steve gaped down at her. He had expected tears. For her to be at least a little upset. He was in love with someone else. And unlike his love for Peggy, Bucky hadn’t grown old without him. And where had she gotten 1935 from?  
  
Amy lay still, she could feel his eyes on her face. The tenseness of his body next to her. She let out a prolonged sigh. “You aren’t going back to sleep, are you?”  
  
“I’m in love with a man and you aren’t shocked or upset.” Steve was at a loss. She must not understand. She must be trying to cover her shock. “You’re acting like it isn’t any more surprising than if I said I don’t really like your tea.”  
  
“Honestly I’d be more shocked if you didn’t like my tea. My tea is great.” The attempt at levity fell flat. Steve was too wrapped up in the drama of his confession to be pulled out of it that easily.  
  
“Fine we will deal with it now.” Amy rubbed her eyes frustrated. She struggled to sit up. Damn it all she couldn’t wait until her hip healed and stopped slowing her down.  
  
Steve scooped an arm around her to help conscious that she was still weak. He wouldn’t have put this on her until she had recovered if it hadn’t felt like lying to her. She had been through so much lately. Her almost glowingly white hair was a reminder of that.  
  
Amy pulled herself up, so she was sitting on her own. He was prepared for this at least. Years of research into Steve’s life were finally going to be worth it. “Pass me my computer.”  
  
He looked at her even more confused. What was her computer going to do?  
  
“My computer. It it’s on the makeup stand, bring.” She snapped her fingers commandingly. She was being short with him she knew, but she was sore and tired, and this could absolutely have waited until she woke up naturally in the morning.  
  
Steve obliged setting the thin silver device in her lap before grabbing all the pillows he could find to build her a back support. Amy relaxed back into them, it helped that he was being sweet about having woken her up. Even if it was mostly guilt.  
  
“I’m not shocked because it has been obvious since well before we started anything. Look here.” She clicked a few times to bring up a series of archival photos, doing her best to navigate without actually looking at the screen. The bright light still made her eyes ache. Steve leaned in to see the photo of him and the commandos sitting around a table in the woods. Amy touched the screen just below his face. “Look at your eyes.”  
  
Steve looked. In the photo he wore a tender worried expression. Eyes full of affection. He followed the eye line to find he was staring directly at Bucky. More importantly Bucky was looking back.  
  
Amy brought up another picture. The bar this time. “And again.” Steve saw it. Another photo, a completely different time and place and again he was looking at Bucky like he wanted to kiss him.  
  
“And here is you and Peggy.” Amy clicked again. Peggy standing proudly addressing a group. Steve looking at her the same way he had been looking at his friend in the first two photos. “And you and me….” Amy sighed and brought up a last photo. It had been taken at the SEAL class where they had both taught before her disappearance. She was looking away from him a soft blush colouring her cheeks, he was reaching out to brush her hair behind her ear. His eyes were soft but focused, there was no one else in the room. Steve felt compelled to touch the screen. That same look, this time directed at the very woman next to him. Amy filled the screen with pictures of him looking at Bucky.  
  
“There are dozens of pictures like those ones. You can’t keep your eyes off him. I knew you loved him before I knew you loved me. I have written _papers_ on how in love with him you are, not that any of them were published.” She took his hand and held it. Folding their fingers together on the blankets. “I also know that he loves you. Honestly babe, if you being in love with someone else was going to be a deal breaker for me, don’t you think the fact you’re still head over heals for Peggy Cater would be more of an issue?”  
  
Steve took the computer from her. Pouring over the files full of photos intently. Amy smiled indulgently and curled up beside him. Let him fall into memories and search his feelings. She was going back to sleep.


	6. What Home Feels Like

Amy spent another morning sleeping, moving lazily from her bedroom, to the chair on the porch, to the pile of pillows in the main room.  
  
Steve had commandeered her desk to get some work done. He was running out of things he could do from this side of the world. He would stay until he completely ran out. Working here with Amy’s cat Ōjo curled on his keyboard.  
  
Around lunch time Amy drifted into the room and draped herself around his shoulders. “How is the work going?”  
  
Steve cupped her arms. They were warm, she must have been sleeping in the sun. It still felt more like a dream than reality, being here with her. Restarting S.H.E.I.L.D. didn’t feel like a dream, more like a nightmare. None of the forms made any sense. They weren’t mercenaries, but they weren’t exactly a charity either. “I have no idea. Any experience starting an NGO?”  
  
“I once forced a government agency to give me my own department. Think there is any overlap?” She shuffled to the side. Keeping one arm around his neck as leaned forward to see what he was reading. There had to be something she could do to help.  
  
He swept her legs from under her and settled her in his lap. They hadn’t talked about work before. That had probably been part of the problem. He would change that this time. This time he wouldn’t shut her out of any part of his life. He would tell her anything and everything. They would have to talk about Bucky again for this to work. But not right now. Right now there were other things she could be part of. “I would have thought you had some international charity or other.”  
  
“Bright Hope Girls Institute. It is important that we do more than just free the girls we rescue. We have to give them a life better than the ones the were running away from in the first place. We have to give them a future.” Amy answered absently, picking the top paper off his stack. A letter to the governor of New York. “But I’m just a trustee, we have someone actually qualified to run it.”  
  
Steve groaned and buried his head in the back of her neck. This new world had too many possibilities. He had no idea what he was doing. “I grew up in Brooklyn. I was supposed to be a commercial artist. I couldn’t even get into the army.”  
  
“So how the hell did you end up the head of a paramilitary group with the emperor of Japan’s niece in your lap?” Amy teased and reached for the next page.  
  
Steve came to his senses as she leaned back into him, reading intently. He plucked the paper from her hand. “An emperor’s niece who is not supposed to strain her eyes with reading for at least another week.”  
  
“I’m bored.” Amy whined reaching for the confiscated sheet. “The last time I was forced to convalesce I _invented_ a field of academic study. Let me at least help with your work.”  
  
“No.” He kissed her cheek and tossed the page back onto the table. He might be willing to tell her anything, but he wasn’t willing to do anything that might hurt her. Which meant looking after her when she didn’t want to do it herself. “I’m going to get some food into you and then you are going to rest some more.”  
  
She glared at him but nestled closer as he carried her from the room. It had been a hard week for him too. There was no harm in letting him coddle her a little if it made him feel better. That was why she was letting him do this. Not because her head hurt after a page and a half of reading.  
  
*****  
  
Amy opened her arms for Steve to join her in the bed. She had spent the rest of the afternoon meditating. It was the closest she could come to being productive at the moment, but it wasn’t what she wanted to do. She was looking forward to cuddling with her boy for a while before she spent another night waking up every few hours. He wasn’t coming to bed though. He was frowning down at the computer on the dressing table as if a thought had occurred to him.  
  
Amy looked between him and the screen. It was black. The computer had fallen asleep where Steve had left it in the morning. “What?  
  
“You knew.” The words came out just above a whisper.  
  
She didn’t ask what he meant. There was only one thing that her computer could have reminded him of. Bucky, and the fact that Steve was in love with him. She pulled her knees up to her chest protectively. “I did.”  
  
He furrowed his brows and sat next to her. “What does that mean?”  
  
“It means that it was probably part of why I was running away before.” Amy cupped his cheek. Focusing on his eyes. She wanted to make sure he understood the next part. “I’m not running away this time. You’ve got me for as long as you want me.” There she had said it. She had let him know that she was in this, but she would leave when he was done. She wouldn’t stand between him and Bucky. They belonged together more than she would ever belong with him. She would let herself be his even if it was only for a little while.  
  
Steve took her face between his hands and stroked her cheeks softly. His sweet girl, he had lost her before. He wouldn’t let anything take her away from him again. “I do love you.”  
  
“Well why wouldn’t you?” Amy teased. He was getting maudlin. If she let him, he’d spend the whole night fretting. “I’m an excellent stand in.”  
  
“Stand in?” Steve pulled away from her more confused than ever.  
  
She frowned at him. Wasn’t it obvious? She thought he had figured out who is soul mate was. Wasn’t that why he had woken her up last night? “For Bucky. Gorgeous internationally renowned assassin with emotional issues. We are practically the same person.”  
  
“Oh, Amy. No. I love you for you.” He reached for her face again, surprised when she turned away to straighten the blankets instead of leaning into his touch.  
  
“Of course, you do sweetheart. I never said you didn’t.” Amy lay down, tucking herself firmly against his side. This wasn’t helping, she was only bringing herself down too. She was too tired to be properly encouraging. She adored him and didn’t want to think about what would happen once they found Bucky. “Do you want to watch some classes tomorrow? I should start rebuilding my team.”  
  
Steve kissed Amy’s forehead softly. Later. They could talk about this later. “I have to go back in the morning. I’ve been away too long.”  
  
“I’m surprised I got to keep you as long as I did.” She rolled over and nuzzled into his chest. She really didn’t want to think about the inevitable end of their relationship. Not when she had just gotten him back.  
  
“Hey.” He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes again. “You can keep me for the rest of my life sweetheart. Work might come between us sometimes, but I’m yours.”  
  
She bumped her nose against his. There he went again, making promises he couldn’t keep. “I’ve got you now. That’s enough.”  
  
He should follow up on that. Make sure she knew that he meant it. That she really did hold a place in his heart that could never belong to anyone else. But she was kissing him, slow and sweet. Lazy kisses that spoke of a long night of goodbyes ahead of them. Steve couldn’t bring himself to think of anything other than the feel of their lips pressing together. Of her skin moving against his. They couldn’t do more than kiss, but he adored those kisses.  
  
*****  
  
Steve had to admit that the new Avengers complex looked good. Tony had transformed an old Stark Industries building. The public spaces were already done. They had even rescued the wall of heroes from the Triskelion in DC. The residential space required more work to turn them in to what they needed. When he had dropped his bags off Steve’s rooms had smelled like paint and sawdust. He hadn’t stuck around to reorganise anything or even do more than change.  
  
Everyone else was in the main building working so that was where he should be. He avoided the main lobby where a construction crew was still assembling a large modern art piece. The side hall he picked ended with an elevator to the offices. Steve stabbed the call button.  
  
The doors slid open immediately and Tony stepped out of the elevator talking rapidly. “…series of pulleys, it wouldn’t count.” He stopped halfway through a hand gesture when he saw Steve standing there. “You’re back!”  
  
Steve held out his arms, presenting himself for inspection. “I’m back.” He was back. He had suited up. He was ready to work.  
  
“Well met Captain. How is my niece?” Thor grinned stepping out behind Tony. He already had his arms open to embrace Steve.  
  
“Alive.” Steve laughed as he returned the god’s back slapping hug. “She’s good. She sends her love. What are we talking about?”  
  
Tony spun on a heel. The motion carried him all the way around with out breaking his stride. “The Vision can pick up Mjolnir.”  
  
Thor shrugged and started down the hall at an easy pace.  
  
“Yeah. How is that?” Steve asked falling into step with his friends.  
  
“Apparently he's _worthy_.” Tony made broad air quotes around the last word. “I don’t think it counts.”  
  
“You’re right.” Steve said hooking his thumbs in his belt. “The rules have changed.”  
  
“We’re dealing with something new.” Tony said, a sarcastic glint creeping into his voice.  
  
“The vision is artificial intelligence.” Steve tossed back. Forgiving at forgetting sounded like the best plan given the circumstances. The less said about _why_ Vision existed in the first place. Better to banter with his friends than let a mistake tear them apart.  
  
“A machine.”  
  
Steve smiled. He knew exactly where Tony was coming from here. “So, it doesn’t count.”  
  
“No,” Tony Shrugged. “it’s not like a person lifting the hammer.”  
  
Steve held out a hand that was it that was exactly it. “Right. Different rules for us.”  
  
“Nice guy.” Tony raised his hands, making it clear his affection for Vision had no bearing on this conversation. “Artificial.”  
  
“Thank you!” Steve said. If he could only almost lift the hammer it wasn’t fair that Tony’s experiment could.  
  
Thor shrugged. Whatever made them feel better. “He can wield the hammer. He can keep the mind stone. It’s safe with the vision. And these days safe is in short supply.” Thor clenched his hand on his hammer. The universe was only getting more dangerous. He needed to find the rest of the infinity stones before they put his planet at risk again. Either of them.  
  
Steve caught up with where Tony's thoughts had been when they had run into each other. “But if you put the hammer in an elevator…”  
  
Tony pointed across Thor. That was it. Steve had caught on. That was it exactly. Man made things didn’t follow the same rules. There was empirical evidence. “It would still go up.”  
  
“Elevator’s not worthy.” It was good to be back. Bantering with his friends without a care in the world. Everything looked brighter. Knowing that Amy was waiting for him. That she was alive and wanted him. Nothing could bring him down.  
  
Thor clasped Tony on the shoulder. “I’m going to miss these little talks of ours”  
  
Tony shrugged. “Not if you don’t leave.”  
  
“I have no choice.” Thor urged them on towards the door. The mind stone is the fourth of the infinity stones to show up in the last few years. It’s not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game. And once all these pieces are in position.”  
  
“Triple Yahtzee?” Tony asked sarcastically. Putting on his sunglasses to block the glare.  
  
Steve shook his head. Trust Tony to try and make alien invasion into a joke. Steve knew that he was still upset about the failure to create his ‘suite of armour around the world’ but Steve couldn’t help thinking that this kind of threat called for a more targeted approached… And better intelligence. “You think you can find out what’s coming?”  
  
“I do. Besides this one,” Thor smacked Tony in the chest. “there’s nothing that can’t be explained.”  
  
Steve and Tony hung back at Thor stepped clear of the buildings. He thrust his hammer into the air. There was a flash of multi coloured light, and he was gone. Leaving only a smouldering knot pattern burned into the ground.  
  
“That man had no regard for lawn maintenance.” Tony stared at the scorched pattern in the grass. “I’m going to miss him though, and you’re going to miss me. There’s going to be a lot of manful tears.”  
  
“I will miss you Tony.” Steve said softly. He meant it. Tony was the heart of the team. No one cared more about protecting the people. And if his ideas sometimes went awry, his heart was always in the right place.  
  
“Yeah? Well It’s time for me to tap out.” Tony clicked a remote to summon his car. “Maybe I’ll take a page out of Barton’s book. Build Pepper a farm. Hope nobody blows it up.”  
  
Steve chuckled. Tony and Pepper on a farm, he would pay money to see that. “The simple life.”  
  
“You’ll get there someday” Tony said, sympathetic to the fact that Steve’s girl was on the other side of the planet and showed no inclination to give up her life there. She might be alive, somehow, but that didn’t mean Steve was about to settle down with 2.5 kids and a white picket fence.  
  
Steve shook his head with a little laugh. “I don’t know. Family. Stability. The guy who wanted all that went into the ice 75 years ago. I think somebody else came out.” Amy’s sharp purple eyes flashed through his mind, followed by Bucky’s steely grey ones. Even Peggy’s chocolatey gaze made an appearance. With any luck his life would be full of love, but it would be anything but simple… or stable once she was well enough to start raising hell again.  
  
Tony hesitated one foot in the car. Steve was putting on a brave face, but a lot had happened in the last week and a half. “You alright?”  
  
Steve looked around him nodding contentedly. A few cleared S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were jogging in a neat formation. Peggy’s legacy was restored. He had a team to train and lead. They had some breathing room before anyone tried to take over or destroy the world. And Amy was alive. The world might not be perfect, but right now it was pretty good. “I’m home.”  
  
*****  
  
The next week was one of the longest Steve had spent since waking up from the ice. There was no particular emergency that needed him. Just a million small tasks to get S.H.I.E.L.D. up and running again. A million small tasks and something missing. Half the time he worked late, he knew it was to avoid going back to an empty bed. It had taken less than a week and he was already used to falling asleep with Amy again. Texts and phone calls were no substitution for the real thing.  
  
Amy’s number lighting up his phone first thing in the morning was an unexpected moment of joy before another of a dreary day. Meeting after meeting and no one seemed to be able to agree on anything. She started talking before he could say hello. “Are you busy this week?”  
  
Steve felt a smile break across his face and carefully ducked around a corner so the new staff couldn’t see him grinning like a maniac. “I have some meetings about restarting S.H.I.E.L.D. and I’m working with our new recruits to get them ready to be real Avengers. Why?”  
  
“I’m bored out of my mind laying around Katsura not being allowed to do anything other than stare at the wall. I miss you. And I’m having a terrible time coming up with reasons I have to stairs at _my_ wall.”  
  
He could hear her frustration through the phone. Could almost see her laying on her back, legs up in a perfect L, eyes burning holes in the offending surface. “That’s true. You could probably recover just as well at a nice five-star resort. Tony has one in India that he likes. I can get the name from him if you want.”  
  
“There are lots of nice resorts.” A smile had crept into her voice at his teasing. “But what _I_ was thinking is you have walls for me to stare at and a couch for me to lounge around on and all with the added benefit of you being there.”  
  
“I don’t actually have a couch in my private rooms here yet. There are a couple in the common room though, and I bet if we tried, we could steal one for my rooms.”  
  
“I’ll be there in two hours. Do you have measurements for a couch? I can have one delivered.” Her quick response made it clear she had never had any doubt that he would take her in.  
  
Steve’s cheeks hurt from how wide he was smiling. She was calling from the plane. She would be here by the time he got out of this meeting. “I love you.”  
  
“Text me those measurements. I'll see you soon.” The click of the line closing did nothing to dampen his spirits. Amy was on her way. Life was good.  
  
*****  
  
Natasha vaulted the balcony railing and rolled neatly to her feet. There was only one reason for a Japanese embassy car to show up here today. Steve’s text hadn’t been an exaggeration. Amy was coming to stay.  
  
Amy emerged from the car, as graceful as always. She pushed the oversized sunglasses she wore up and gazed around. It was a good-looking campus. Sleek, modern, a little over scaled in that uniquely American way. She looked out of place in a floaty rust coloured sun dress and wide brimmed hat, especially compared to the black pant suit clad assassin crossing the driveway to her.  
  
“You pulled off a miracle.” Natasha pulled her into a hug. Holding her tight enough that she could feel the dagger strapped to Amy's thigh pressed between them.  
  
Amy squeezed back hard. “It was terribly uncomfortable, and I can’t say I would do it again, but yes. I did. You didn’t come see me.”  
  
“I had to come back her and make sure the boys set all this up right. Otherwise I would have come back to an armoury full of bazookas, a security perimeter that a child could get through, and no information gathering network to speak of.” Nat said with a grin.  
  
Amy grinned back. Natasha was right of course. That anti aircraft gun on the roof was impressive, and completely useless. Two drones flying in close formation ahead of the main force and it would go down in a snap. What would their boys do without them?  
  
There was a clattering from the car.  
  
“Leave that. I’ll take it.” Amy snapped at the driver who was man handling her weapons bag. He would damage something if he kept treating it like that.  
  
“_I_ will take it. _You_ will rest.” Steve strode from the main entrance. He was dressed for work too. Amy tipped her head to watch as he collected her bags. It was the simple uncomplicated pleasures that were helping her stay sane during her forced inactivity, and watching Steve bend over was an uncomplicated pleasure. Even in those horrible chinos. She made a mental note to have Fredrick send him some better pants. Something in a Euro cut. Steve had the most amazing ass.  
  
Nat rested her head on her friend’s shoulder. It was good to have Amy back. And back starring at Cap. They would both be happier this way. “He’s going to be a mother hen the entire time you’re here.”  
  
“I know. Dai is counting on it.” Amy smiled and leaned into Nat’s side. She had missed Natasha. She was the closest thing to a fox of the same age. There were other clan members of her generation, but none of them had the powers of life expectancy she did. Her aunts shared those features, but they had grown up in different world from her, the second youngest surviving bright-eyed fox was more than a hundred years older than her. Nat had grown up in the same crazy ever-changing world she had. A true kindred spirit.  
  
A large truck rumbled up the driveway behind them. “Did you bring your own furniture?” Natasha failed to smoother her laughter.  
  
“I did yes.” Amy replied trying to stay serious in the face of her friend’s convulsions. She failed as Nat lapsed into silent giggles, giving in and curing around her friend body shaking with giggle fit of her own.


	7. Friends and Family Obligations

“Right. Tell me everything.” Amy dropped into the chair across Natasha’s desk. Steve had left for his afternoon of meetings. Which meant there was no one would be interrupting the two of them for at least three hours.  
  
“I assumed Steve had told you everything.” Nat didn’t look up from her typing.  
  
Amy leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest. “His version. We both know that Steve focuses on different things than we do. I want to hear your take.”  
  
Nat sighed and pushed back from the desk. “I like saving the world.”  
  
“It’s a good feeling.” Amy said with a languid stretch.  
  
“How do you...?” Nat shouldn’t question it. The foxes did all sorts of things in the shadows to keep the world in balance. Amy was their beloved wunderkind. She was bound to have been involved in something world changing. There was that six-month gap in her file for one thing. Natasha didn’t seem Amy sitting still for that long.  
  
“Please.” Amy shrugged dismissively. The world was never as safe as people wanted to believe it was. Natasha should know that.  
  
Natasha looked at her friend. If anyone would understand what she was going through it would be Ayame. “I like betraying the man I love less.”  
  
“Bruce?” Amy clarified. Steve had mention Nat forcing Bruce’s hand. She had only done it to save the world., but Amy could see how she would still view it as a betrayal. Especially since she hadn’t been able to apologise.”  
  
Natasha fluffed her hair. It had been necessary. That didn’t me she like doing it. “I forced him to turn into the Hulk when he didn’t want to. Now he’s missing. Furry thinks he’s in Fiji.”  
  
Amy frowned. Amy had contacts in Fiji. Contacts that would have told her if one of the Avengers had washed up on the beach. “Nat I would have told you if he was on my side of the world.”  
  
“Then where is he?” Nat hissed in frustration and fell back in her chair. Aims was right. It should be easy. It had been easy last time. Hell, it would have been easy for _her_ the time before last if anyone had bothered asking. So why wasn’t it easy this time.  
  
“We’ll find him. There aren’t very many people who can hide from the two of us.” Amy said kicking her feet up on the desk.  
  
Natasha looked at the heels resting on her budget reports. “Don’t you have something to do?”  
  
“I have hours of almost important work that they think will stop me from shredding everything around me into very fine pieces. I might even work. Mind if I stay?” Amy pulled a laptop out of the bag by her side.  
  
Natasha smirked at her friend. Life was always more interesting with Amy around. “I’d hate to see you leave. Do you want the Wifi password?”  
  
Amy looked over the top of her screen at Natasha, already connected to the network. “I can’t believe you’d even ask.”  
  
“Tony will pout when he finds out.” Natasha said returning to her email. She wasn’t worried about the loophole Amy had exploited to get in. There weren’t very many people who had the access codes from the tower and a phone linked to a supercomputer to brute force her the rest of the way in.  
  
“You mean _if_ he finds out.” Amy said pulling up a series of files. It was good to be back. “What have you heard about the political situation in Jakarta?”  
  
An hour and a half later, Amy still had her feet up on Nat’s desk. She was finally allowed to read and use screens again. Which meant she was allowed to work again. Only a few hours a day but still it was enough stop were from going insane. Steve was in meetings with various government agencies all day. Natasha and Amy had ensconced themselves in Nat’s office and were working their way through the backlogs of reports and data that had built up.  
  
Amy had stack of reports from her contacts and was compiling them into summaries by area. There were a number of concerning rumblings coming out of Indonesia that she was trying to crystallise into usable information.  
  
Nat was plotting hydra locations on world map. Brows furrowed. “Someone else is taking out high ranking Hydra members.”  
  
Amy looked up, even with all the Hydra documents for S.H.I.E.L.D. uploaded to the web there weren’t all that many people who would know who the remaining high-ranking Hydra members were. Let alone people who knew who they were that wouldn’t have told either Natasha or her that they were going after those members. Which left two real options. “Internal coup? House cleaning by the last remnants with power?”  
  
Nat shook her head. A coup didn’t fit, they weren’t being killed off in any sort of order, either up the chain of command or down. “I don’t think so. It’s a fairly random pattern.”  
  
“Let me see?” Amy scanned the list of names quickly. Natasha was right. Different continents. Different clearance levels. Different specialities. There was only one similarity she could see. “Most of these either have ties to Leviathan or took over for people who did.”  
  
Natasha did not find the confirmation of her suspicions comforting. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Which narrowed the suspect pool further. “Even in Hydra most people don’t remember the hand over of power when the organisations joined.”  
  
“What if it is a personal grudge from someone who was there?” Amy’s mind was whirling. A year to get his head together. Another to gather resources and information. The timeline worked.  
  
“You think it’s him?” Nat pursed her lips. It could be. She wasn’t the optimist Steve was. She had assumed he had bled out in some out of the way safe house. Sad, but honestly how she had expected to die herself for more than a few years.  
  
Amy shrugged. It wasn’t a theory she would back without more information. “I think you’d recognise his signatures better than I would.”  
  
Natasha frowned at the list. It did make sense. It would have made more sense for him to come to her or Steve for help. But he always had been stubborn and overprotective. If it was him there might be something they could do to help. “I need to pull up some crime scene photos”  
  
“Let me know if you want me to look over anything.” Amy said already distracted. Her phone was ringing. It was one in the afternoon and her phone was ringing. There were only a handful of people her phone would actually ring for. One of them was in this room. Another was safely in meetings. The others were all on the far side of the planet. Which meant they were calling her in the middle of the night.  
  
Caller ID showed it wasn’t one of her bothers. Which was good news in so far as I probably meant neither of them was about to die. The fact it was Dai calling from Kyoto was less comforting. He wouldn’t have left Tokyo unless something had gone very wrong.  
  
“Dai? What’s wrong.” She sat forward covering her other ear to hear him better.  
  
Her cousin’s voice was calmer than she expected. Whatever it was that made him call her it wasn’t the emergency she had feared. He had launched directly into an elaborate explanation of why he had called that she wasn’t sure she was fully understanding. The eye of Agamotto was not supposed to be used or removed from its place in the sanctum. “What do you mean they moved the eye to New York?”  
  
More explanation that made even less sense met her question. “I remember. It was a major coup. But he's been there what? A year and a half?” There had to be something she was missing. Why would an American doctor who had _just_ joined the sorcerers have anything to do with an infinity stone?  
  
Dai laid out the doctor’s rapid progress in the school. How he was a natural at channelling dimensional energy and had an eidetic memory. That explained why he had an affinity for the stone and even how he had learned to use it so quickly. But… “That still doesn’t explain why the Ancient One would let the stone leave the Sanctum. Even if she did loosen restrictions on using it.”  
  
Amy frowned. Her cousin’s story was only getting stranger. The ancient one had been stabbed? “Daisuki darling you’re not making any sense. How can she be dead?”  
  
She rolled her eyes. Of course, anyone could be stabbed, everyone slipped up sometimes. But it didn’t logically follow that someone as powerful as the ancient one would die of something so silly. “Because she didn’t survive 2000 years of persecution, _walk_ across Eurasia, and take control of what used to be a ridiculously patriarchal school to be killed by some chump with a hard on for the end of the world. Has anyone told Grandmother? She will be devastated.” Six months ago. Her grandmother’s best and oldest friend, the women who had taught her how to use her fox powers against more traditional magic, had died six months ago, and she was just finding out about it now.  
  
“Dormammu?” Amy listened as her cousin recounted events of Hong Kong. She had been neglecting the more fantastic parts of her family duties. Now that she had turned her collar, she would have to be better about tracking off planet threats. The Foxes should have been there to help protect the sanctum.  
  
Doctor Strange had found a solution at least. Although it exposed the time stone more than she would have liked. “And now he thinks he can control the damn thing?” She considered the new additions to the Avengers team. He wasn’t exactly alone in trying to use an infinity stone. “I suppose it is going around.”  
  
Amy closed her eyes to think again. Thinking through the situation. The ancient one was dead. So were the guardians of the three sanctums. “Leaving Mordo in charge of the Sanctum Sanctorum.”  
  
Her eyes flashed back open at Dai’s next words. Mordo had abandoned the sorcerers. He was the only student close enough to the ancient one for there to even be a chance he knew the reason behind the eye’s resting place. “Which means there is no one left who knows why it was important that the stone stay in Asia.” Which was why they had called her. Amy sighed and dropped back into her chair.  
  
Someone needed to have a conversation with the doctor. Feel him out. And if they could why he couldn’t use the stone beyond the old prohibitions. Dai wanted to know if they should put together a regular team or if one of the aunts should go. No, odds were he hadn’t heard any of the good stories about the foxes. Showing up in force would only antagonize him. They needed to send someone none threatening. Preferably someone who wouldn’t baffle him culturally. Someone American….. Amy stomach flipped. She was supposed to rest and take things slow. If this went badly it would be the opposite of slow. If it went well the clan might stop babying her and let her get back to her real work. “I'll go. I’m over here already.”  
  
Amy tossed the phone on the table and rubbed her temples to dispel a growing headache. She hated half trained amateurs who thought they were experts, and this was exactly why. The idiot probably hadn’t even read the entire warning on not using the stone. Let alone the amended reasoning. This would put a number of sensitive plans in danger. And it was very selfish of her to be even a little pleased by the opportunity it presented her. Assuming she was as recovered as she thought she was and didn’t pass out surrounded by that much active energy. Only one way to find out.  
  
She sat back in her chair and turned to Nat. Her friend had stopped her own research to watch and listen to Amy call once it was clear it was important. She sat now, leaning forward intently head propped on her fist. Amy met her curious gaze. “I need a favor.”  
  
Nat pushed back from the desk dramatically. “Who are we killing?”  
  
“Hopefully no one.” Amy took a deep breath, finalising her mental plan. “I need you to drop me off in the city and not ask questions.”  
  
“And presumably help cover for you when Steve asks if you’ve been working when you’re supposed to be resting.” Nat stretched cat like. Favours for Amy were frequently quite fun. “Any idea how long this will take?”  
  
“Now see. That is a question.” Amy smirked at Nat and danced out of the room.  
  
Nat rolled her eyes. That is exactly what she would have done. She really had missed Amy.  
  
She followed Amy down the hall to Steve’s room at a lazy pace. “So, you have no idea.”  
  
“Somewhere between twenty minutes and six hours depending on how it goes.” Amy called over her shoulder rummaging through her suitcase.  
  
“Is that what you’re wearing?” Nat asked when Amy reemerged. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a silk button up. Not combat gear.  
  
Amy started towards the garage without hesitation. “I said I’m not planning on killing anyone. I’m starting to understand why the Red Room always accused you of not following orders.” Her teasing reassured Nat that this really was a normal errand and nothing to worry about…. Normal for them anyway.  
  
*****  
  
Nat parked the car in front of a large stone building in Greenwich Village. It was huge for a private residence in this part of town and there were no signs of it being a business. There was a very unique window in the top floor, a huge circle crossed by graceful curved lines. It seemed more like a symbol than a normal window to Nat's eyes. “What is this place?”  
  
“Nothing. And I expect you to deny all knowledge of it if anyone asks.” Amy clicked out of her seat-belt, already in work mode. Centre and lock down on her own powers. Internally she pressed the energy down, compressing the dancing sparks into a smooth tight ball. The orb still pulsed with a deep purple glow to her inner eye, but now there were now wandering tendrils to catch on external magic. She couldn’t keep this up for more than a few hours at a time, but she was planning to be out of here long before that.  
  
“Be careful.” Nat called as her friend exited the car.  
  
“I’ll call if I need you.” Amy said and closed the door.  
  
*****  
  
Getting in was easy enough. The door opened at her touch, the old magic recognising her blood. It was good to be recognised. Amy made her way carefully to the library. The same magic that had allowed her in would alert the guardians to their visitor.  
  
The magic might alert her hosts, but it wouldn’t explain who she was. She would need to provide context of her own for the baby sorcerers. She found the section she was looking for. Just below eye level. A history of the Fox Clan's relationship with the order of sorcerers.  
  
“I’m sorry. And you are?” A dry sarcastic voice announced the arrival of the Sanctum’s new guardian.  
  
“Call me Kitsune.” She waited for some spark of recognition. The tall dark-haired man continued to stair at her blankly, although his cape flapped in welcome. She tried again. “Fox Demon of the rising sun. Nothing? Well I'll try not to take it personally.” Not a great start. Achieving the rank of master without learning about the Fox’s meant he hadn’t done all of the supplementary readings. Amy draped herself across the armchair, just as the sanctums second guardian hurried into the room. “Hello, Wong dear. Lovely to see you outside the library.”  
  
Wong relaxed, recognising her type of not her specifically. Well that was reassuring. At least someone knew who she was. He had probably seen the way the dimensional energies rolled against her aura. It was a distinctive pattern. “Hello, are we in trouble my lady?”  
  
“No. No, of course not.” Amy waved away his concern. She pretended to page through the book she had selected. “My grandmother just wanted someone to stop by and check up on the new master of the eye. She wasn’t overly pleased that you decided to remove it from the sanctuary.”  
  
Strange bristled at her implication. “I am master of the eye. Where I go it goes. “  
  
Amy snapped the book closed. There it was, the answer to whether he could be persuaded to do what she needed him to do. Having claimed the eye, he wouldn’t be returning it to its rightful place. At least not in one session. “If you think that is for the best. You know of course, that this place isn’t shielded the way the sanctum sanctorum is? That an artefact as powerful as the eye might attract attention from certain celestial or intergalactic beings?”  
  
Strange stared at her coldly. “I am aware. We have a list of powers that we are monitoring and are prepared for visits from.”  
  
Amy looked to his second for conformation. That might be good enough for a temporary solution. Especially if they already had Thanos on that list. She didn’t want to ask directly though. Tipping her hand while they didn’t trust her could make things even worse. Sometimes being Loki’s grandchild complicated matters.  
  
Wong nodded. “We are constantly doing research and adding names from the Ancient One’s private library. Would you like to see our plans?”  
  
Amy couldn’t fault his deference. She would have preferred the kind of deference that would have them handing over the eye without question and apologising for daring to touch it in the first place. On the other hand, they _had_ saved the world, she could forgive them a little cockiness for now. “No. I'll believe you.” The message from her grandmother explaining the situation should be in that library. Between that and the book she was leaving for them, they should start putting together what side she was one. With any luck they would either return the stone to where it belongs or at least  
  
“I’m not sure that any of this has been an explanation of who you are or what you’re doing here.”  
  
“What you thought you were the only group working to protect this planet?” Amy smirked knowingly. The expression covered her irritation. They hadn’t told him anything about the larger purpose, and now there was almost no one left who knew the larger purpose.  
  
She could tell them, but they wouldn’t trust or believe her. Some days she really wished the goddesses in her lineage were as well know and the god. It would make life so much easier if people knew that she wanted to protect this world not rule it. Ruling was boring anyway. People always forgot that. They would have to figure it out on their own. That didn’t mean she had to leave them completely without help. She let her smirk melt into a warm inviting smile. She would just have to earn their trust.  
  
“Look. We all want the same thing. For our planet to not be consumed by a giant ball of fire. Which means we are on the same side. So, I’m going to ask that you not use the stone unless the world is about to end.” Amy shoved a card across the table. “And you are going to call if there is even the slightest chance you might need help. Deal?”  
  
Strange and Wong exchanged a look. Strange extended a hand reluctantly. “Deal.”  
  
“It’s been a pleasure.” Amy shook his hand. “Call that number. Any time. Someone will answer and help will come.”  
  
*****  
  
The car pulled up thirty seconds after Amy texted Nat, passenger window already rolled down. Nat leaned across the car to peer out at Amy curiously. “How did it go?”  
  
“About as well as I expected.” Amy slid neatly into the passenger seat. “Want to hit up Tea and Sympathy while we’re in town?”  
  
Natasha raised an eyebrow as she pulled into traffic. “So that when Steve asks what we did all day you can tell him we went out for tea?”  
  
“I try really hard not to lie to him.” Amy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Nothing was ever easy.  
  
Natasha nodded switching lanes so she could make the turn that would take them to the tea house. It was a harmless deception and she would kill for a good éclair right now. “But you also don’t want to drag him down into the muck with us.”  
  
Amy snorted. She didn’t want to drag him down into the muck. This wasn’t the muck. This was stardust and fairy tales. Steve had his boots firmly on the ground. She liked that about him, and she would fight to keep him grounded. Let him think the _Chitauri_ had been a unique event. He didn’t need to know how often her family and the sorcerers diverted similar disasters. “I don’t want to make his life any more complicated than it is. He has enough shit to deal with without my complicated truths.”  
  
Natasha shrugged. Complicated truths were par for the course in their lives. “Truth is relative.”  
  
“See, you and I both believe that. He doesn’t. He’s convinced that there is a right answer if you just look hard enough.” Amy closed her eyes. She also didn’t want to have to explain why his city had to burn when others didn’t. “The worst part is he might be right.”


	8. An Irrational Fear That Might Not Be So Irrational

Amy let herself into Steve’s rooms with a contented sigh. It was good to back somewhere that she didn’t have to worry about watching her back. Tea had been excellent. She and Nat had caught up on everything that had happened in the last few months. Amy didn’t have a lot of friends she wasn’t related to. Even fewer who understood her life. But neither of them really relaxed in public.  
  
Here she could relax. The room was safely behind several layers of security. Had a robust lock of its own. Most importantly her Steve was here. Stretched on the couch, book in hand, sweater, mug of tea, the embodiment of cozy. How could anyone not feel safe with those blue eyes smiling at them.  
  
“Busy day?” Steve set down the book on the Korean war he had been reading. He had missed coming back to her asleep in his rooms after his meetings. She looked good though, a healthy glow was coming back to her skin. Her cheeks had started to fill back out. He hoped that part of that was being here with him. That she was recovering faster because she felt loved.  
  
Amy shed her jacket and shoes by the door. She was too far away from him. She needed to be curled against that broad chest the same way she needed to breath. She could avoid it for longer than people with less discipline, but since there was no reason for her not to right now, she was going to. “I spent some time with Nat.”  
  
“She’s missed you too.” He held out a hand inviting her closer. He had suspected they were off together when he couldn’t find Natasha either. That was good. Nat needed more girl friends, she and Maria ended up talking work most of the time and everyone needed an escape from logistics. “What did you two do?”  
  
“Drove into the city. I had to go see my grandmother’s best friend's protégé. Then tea.” Amy climbed into his lap. He seemed fine with her disappearance all afternoon. He was such a teddy bear tonight. If he wasn’t worried about her going into the city, she didn’t feel the need to stress him out with details. She would much rather, enjoy her time with him. An evening curled on the couch answering his history context questions sounded perfect if they could pull it off.  
  
Steve cradled her carefully, breathing in the reassuring sent of her. The surrealness of it still hit him in moments like this. That she was alive. That he had her back. That they were together in a more real and honest way then they ever had been. He loved her. And she… well she had shown how much she cared in her willingness to be vulnerable for him. From her letter all those months ago to the way she let him baby her through her recovery when she wouldn’t let anyone else presume any weakness. The thought of the letter reminded him of something else. Her goodbye note hadn’t come alone.  
  
“I have something for you.” Steve fumbled for something in the drawer of the side table. It should be right here. He had wanted to keep it close but safe. Somewhere he could find it but where he wasn’t tripping over it all the time and triggering memories. His fingers found the smooth surface he was looking for.  
  
“Mmm, a present?” Amy nuzzled his neck. Yes, that was exactly what she wanted for the night. Some reading. Some kissing. Maybe a midnight raid on the kitchen.  
  
“Something you gave me.” He pulled something black lacquered out of the drawer. Amy laughed and took the palm sized box. It was her seal. She had sent it to him along with a goodbye letter when she had been presumed dead. Having it back would make her life much easier. Thank god Dai had signing authority on all her accounts. Otherwise re-establishing her life would have been nearly impossible.  
  
“I’m keeping the fox though. I’m pretty sure she’s good luck.” That little statue had definitely given him a little of her uncanny luck. He had carried it with him through the entire Ultron fight and come away with barley a scratch.  
  
Amy tipped her head to the side curiously. She knew exactly what fox Steve was talking about. The obsidian netsuke she had left with him along with her seal. She had never thought of it as anything other than a statue, a very well made one, and one she would happily wear everyday, but never something with a gender. “She?”  
  
“She’s a little piece of you, isn’t she?” He kissed the side of her head softly. Keeping his lips against her temple and rocking them slightly. The statue might have kept him safe, but he would keep her safe from here on out. At least as much as she would let him.  
  
Amy hummed and cuddled even closer to him. Let him keep the statuette if he thought it brought him luck. She had an idea for something that would keep him safe in field without relying on luck.  
  
Steve set the box on the table and picked his book back up. The moment had passed. Their quiet night together hadn’t. He didn’t know how many of these he would have before she left. He was going to make the most of it. “Why was Taiwan on the security counsel instead of The Peoples Republic of China?”  
  
*****  
  
Steve didn’t want to leave Amy. Anything could happen while he was away. There could be a gas leak. Hydra could attack. Aliens could invade. His sweet girl would be vulnerable.  
  
Amy had to admit, Steve straddling his bike should be an attractive sight. Unfortunately, even the idea of him on that death trap was making it hard to keep her breathing even. He would be fine. He was captain America. Nothing was going to happen to him just because he was riding a motorcycle. She could ignore statistics in most areas of her life there was no reason she couldn’t do the same here. Still. Why couldn’t he choose to commute in a nice safe practical car. Something with tinted windows and bullet proof doors.  
  
She shouldn’t have walked him out. She should have stayed curled on the couch with a book. He should have cancelled all his meetings so they could spend all their time wrapped in each other’s arms. Stupid being responsible.  
  
“You could come with me.” Steve wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Hand sliding under the bulky sweater she wore to ward off the morning chill and curling around a fist full of her loose silk shirt. She would be safe as long as she was with him. And she'd feel good pressed against his back for the ride.  
  
“I’m not exactly dressed to meet the mayor.” There is no reason to start an argument about his bike right now, not when he was in such a good mood. Amy told her stomach to calm down. _She_ wasn’t going anywhere on the thing and _he_ had survived worse than a little wipe out on a bike.  
  
Steve laughed and looked up at her adoringly. He had told her he had to go into the city for a meeting, not who the meeting was with. “How did you-“  
  
Amy kissed the tip of his nose. “I know everything. Just like Natasha.”  
  
“Natasha only acts like she knows everything.” Steve said rubbing her back.  
  
Amy leaned into his touch. It helped. From this close she almost couldn’t see the bike. “Maybe I’m better at my job than she is.”  
  
Steve laughed again. God it was good to have her back. His cleaver girl. Always ready with a comeback. He adored her more than he could say. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”  
  
“I can take her.” Amy zipped his jacket up around his neck and gave him a quick firm kiss. “Now get out of here. You’re going to be late.” The hug had helped. She still couldn’t wait to get away from the death trap.  
  
Steve sat back on the bike still grinning at her. She would be alright. She was fierce. Nothing would happen while he was away. And if it did, she would handle it. If the worst happened, he would come back to her and Natasha rescuing everyone else. He shouldn’t doubt that.  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”  
  
“Bring my best political smile. Check. Kiss my girl goodbye. Check. No. I don’t think so.”  
  
Amy lifted the shiny black dome off the back of the bike. “Helmet. It’s the law. And it will make me feel better. You don’t have a monopoly on worrying you know.”  
  
He took the helmet from her hands and shoved it onto his head. “Anything for you Sweetheart.”  
  
She did up the chin strap with a disapproving glare. “Try to stay safe, you reckless idiot.”  
  
“I can only do so much.” Steve laughed and kissed her again. The helmet bumping against her forehead awkwardly. “I have to go, or I really will be late.” He blew her another kiss as he roared out of the drive.  
  
Amy waved and smiled until the bike was out of sight. As soon as she was sure he couldn’t see her anymore, she let her legs collapse the way they had been trying to since he had sat down. She put her head between her knees and took three deep breaths. He would be fine.  
  
Gravel crunched behind her.  
  
“You alright?” Sam asked kneeling beside her. He was supposed to be meeting Rhody for some flight training. He couldn’t do that if his best friend’s girl was having some sort of attack in the driveway.  
  
Amy let out a long slow breath. No falling apart in front of people. That was the rule. She had to get herself back together. Why wasn’t Dai here when she needed him? “I hate that thing.”  
  
Sam looked at the deep tire tread running in front of her. Steve had mentioned that she didn’t like the bike. He loved his bike. He was anxious to take her for a ride, but she had always dodged the question before, and she hadn’t been healthy enough since. He hadn’t even considered that it might be more than dislike. This looked like a trigger. It wasn’t like Amy _didn’t_ have things to have PTSD over. She would be completely justified in breaking down over the safety of her significant other. Or she would be if her significant other was anyone else. “Steve’s not going to get hurt.”  
  
“Intellectually I know that. I still hate it.” Her heart had slowed, and her breathing was steady without her having to force it. She would be alright.  
  
“You could tell him.” Sam offered her a hand to her feet. Steve would give up riding for her. At least while she was here. With her miraculous rise from the dead, Steve would do anything for her.  
  
“Yeah… I’m not going to do that.” She shook her head as she got to her feet. Steve loved his bike. She wouldn’t take even a moment of joy from him if she could avoid it. Letting him continue to ride the death trap was a small price to pay.  
  
He watched as she adjusted her shirt. She wasn’t acting like this was the first time this had happened. They had dated for the better part of a year before everything had gone to hell. Steve would have noticed if she did this every time he rode off. “How did you deal with it before?”  
  
“How do I deal with anything? Avoidance.” Amy straightened up with what she hoped was an ironic grin. Really she would be fine. Not until Steve was back and safely away from that damn bike. But she would be.  
  
Sam rolled his eyes. Yeah, that sounded healthy. “What are you going to do?”  
  
Amy sighed and smoothed the scarf covering her hair. “Distract myself from what my gut is convinced is his certain death.” She was going to find Natasha and see if she could talk her into an extra work out. Then once she was good and worn out, she would throw herself into her work. Probably following up on Winter Soldier leads Nat didn’t have time for. She had already burned through all the make work projects the clan had sent with her…. Doctors always exaggerated recovery time.


	9. A New Normal

Another morning of trying to convince politicians that they would _not_ be converting into another government agency should have worn Steve down. But he returned to the residential wing of the compound with a spring in his step. Amy was here. He loved having her here. Loved coming out of stress full meetings about new organisational structures or whatever other bureaucratic nightmare the world could come up with that day, to find her napping in the sun by the pool.  
  
That was exactly where he found her now, face shaded by an umbrella the rest of her swathed in a loose pale green silk dress. She had one headphone in, the cord emerging from under the scarf that wrapped her head, also green. Someone, Fredrick most likely, had ensured that she had scarves to match every outfit. Eyes closed and feet curled under her, she was a vision.  
  
She still slept a lot. More food and rest, that was what she needed. Food, rest and some pampering. He would make sure she got all three.  
  
In the pool itself Sam and Rhody were swimming laps. Steve was glad to see that they had escaped from meeting themselves. Rhody was the most respectable of them according to the government. Sam was high on that list too, which meant that the two of them had been doing more than their share of the schmoozing.  
  
Natasha had dodged most of that, pissing off the government after Washington had some benefits. She and Wanda were probably off training somewhere. The obstacle course was his guess. Wanda was learning to lift her teammates over obstacles. So far, she was doing a good job of not dropping them as long as she could see them. When they moved out of sight her control was less reliable. Natasha was convinced it was a confidence issue. So, Wanda was subjected to a lot of practice.  
  
Steve pressed the loose headphone into his ear. A horrible screeching over an off-key music box greeted him. He pulled the offending speaker away from his head. “What is this?”  
  
Amy removed her own headphone and turned off the noise. “Numbers station out of Croatia.” He was back. He was safe. Her heart felt lighter already.  
  
“It sounds horrible.” He frowned she was supposed to be resting. This was definitely work, and not just writing summaries either.  
  
“It should. It isn’t meant for civilians. It is meant to get coded information to agents in the field.” Amy took her headphones back and made them and the phone disappear into her dress.  
  
“Learn anything interesting?” He wouldn’t push too hard. At least she was laying down, he could have found her on the obstacle course. Bad enough he had come back from his morning run the first day to discover that she had roped Nat into practicing naginata with her. She had pulled the same trick every morning since. He didn’t want to press too hard about it. Amy like to move and as long as Natasha was there to keep an eye on her she probably wouldn’t overexert herself.  
  
“That Nat was right.” There was a warning for the remaining Hydra agents assigned to this station. The Winter Soldier was hunting them. They were to regroup and wait for further instructions. Instructions that Amy knew would not be coming, their commander had been found dead the day before. A beautiful keyhole shot through his temple. Barnes was out there, and he was pissed.  
  
“Did she put you up to doing this when you should be resting?” Steve would give her such a dressing down if she was wearing Amy out. They had gone into the city all afternoon earlier in the week and now this.  
  
“First. Does anyone in your life rest when they should?” Amy stretched her arms up and around his neck. “Second. No this is a personal project. She had a theory, I just confirmed it.”  
  
“Do I get to know what this project is?” He asked smiling down at her. What was it about that mischievous look that made his heart sing?  
  
Amy patted him on the cheek. “Not until we know what to do about it.”  
  
Steve knew when to give up a line of questioning. She would tell him when she was ready. Instead of fighting, he kissed her long and deep. Across the pool Sam and Rhody wolf whistled and shouted encouragement. Steve broke off the kiss and rested his forehead against Amy’s. “Want to get out of here? The peanut gallery is kind of killing the mood for me.”  
  
“Depends.” Amy smirked up at him. “Are you going to let me walk or are you going to insist on carrying me?”  
  
Steve scooped Amy into his arms and set her over his shoulder. “I’m going to carry you of course. I have an image to maintain.”  
  
Amy laughed and curled around him. Steve saluted Sam and Rhody and carried her off to another course of jeers.  
  
*****  
  
Steve fell back on his bed, Amy on top of him. They were still laughing, limbs tangled together. He bumped his nose against hers. Amy kissed him, pressing his head back into the pillows. He moaned into the kiss. He had missed those sweet needy noises.  
  
They kissed lazily. Amy resting on Steve’s chest. In the process Steve’s shirt was pushed up exposing his hard abs and Amy’s scarf fluttered to the floor.  
  
Steve ran his hand down her sides. The silk was soft, and she was still warm from the sun. “Have I told you that I missed you? That I missed this?”  
  
Amy smiled into his neck as his hand wandered lower. “Is this all you missed?”  
  
“You know it isn’t” He cupped the firm curve of her ass. “But we shouldn’t rush things. You need to get your strength back.”  
  
She propped herself up on an elbow. “Would it surprise you if I had checked with my doctors and sex is on my list of approved physical exercise.”  
  
He kissed her. “It would. You hate talking to doctors.”  
  
“True. But I know you worry, and I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.” Amy kissed the soft spot under his ear. She knew it used to drive him crazy, and if the way his hand tightened on her hips was an indication, it still worked.  
  
“So you came prepared.” Steve smiled into her neck. “What are some of your other options?”  
  
Well if he wanted to take this slow, she could handle that. It had been almost six months since they had last had sex, she could wait a few extra minutes. “Yoga, light cardio, and I’m allowed to keep up my naginata training. Just no more than three hours total a day. If my progress continues, I’m allowed to go up to four hours next week.” She kissed his neck between each item on her list. His breath caught each time she did. She liked that.  
  
Steve cupped a hand around the back of her head, stroking the soft short hair. “How long does your naginata take in the morning?”  
  
“About an hour.” Amy leaned into his touch, bearing her neck to him at the same time. He didn’t need to know about the extra hour she had badgered Nat into after he left this morning. It was a one-time thing and she had needed it to keep herself calm. It stopped her from being irritated by the doctor’s restrictions. The prescribed time was ridiculously anyway. Her recovery time was better than the doctors thought. She wasn’t some fragile human who needed months to recover from a little rough handling. She was a goddess. She could easily double that time as long as she was eating well and Steve way plying her with four meals a day.  
  
“Which leaves us about two hours.” Steve nuzzled her neck teasingly. “Should we set a timer?”  
  
Amy glared and rolled to straddle him. She didn’t want a timer. She wanted to revel having him safe, and in bed with no complications for the first time in a year. She wouldn’t have to feel guilty or leave after. They could just enjoy themselves.  
  
Steve slid the dress over her head. They had showered together when they were in Japan and he had helped her change, he had been far to distracted by the raw scars and her jutting bones to appreciate the site of her naked. She was fleshing out again and the scars had faded over the past weeks. He took a moment to drink in the view. She really was beautiful. Nat had once described her as silk over steel and he had to agree with that.  
  
He ran a hand over her tattoo. The beautiful design was crossed, and scuffed, half obliterated by pale scars. “This is looking a little rough.”  
  
Amy preened under his touch. His hands were warm and soft, and she had missed them. “They want me to get a little more of my strength back, then I can go see doctor Cho in Korea. She’ll clean up the scars. After that I’ll have my ink refreshed.”  
  
His thumb traced the line of the only scar he remembered from before. The long ridge down the right side of her stomach. The only one he remembered from before. From her brother he knew how she had gotten that scar. He had almost lost her before he even found her. “You’re beautiful no matter what.”  
  
“And you are wearing too many clothes.” Amy purred sliding her hands under his shirt. He could run his hands over every inch bid her after she could return the gesture.  
  
“I can fix that.” Steve lay Amy on her back and pealed of his shirt. He climbed back on top of her kissing his way down her neck and shoulders. He couldn’t count the number of times he had dreamed about this since he had lost her. Having her here, real and solid in his arms, was better than any of them. He was determined to get his mouth on as much of her as possible.  
  
She was sweet under his tongue. He was a little out of practice. He took some extra time to make sure he found all her sweet spots. Based on the sounds she was making she appreciated his diligence.  
  
Amy clutched at his shoulders gasping. Had he somehow gotten better at this?  
  
Steve chuckled and slipped one finger inside her. His pretty girl. Always so in control and put together. Except here. Here she let him behind the veil and her guards down. Let him see her vulnerable side. He loved her for it. He added another finger and curled them to make her moan.  
  
Amy arched her back. Steve loved the way she looked when she was about to finish. Those little breathy whimpers, the way her eyelashes fluttered. “That’s it sweetheart.” He swirled his thumb and curled his fingers again.  
  
“Steve.” Amy gasped. Her fingers bunching in the sheets. The building tension broke. Her entire body going slack.  
  
“That’s my girl. You do that so well.” Steve kissed back up to neck.  
  
“Please Steve.” Amy gasped and squirmed desperately. She needed him. She hadn’t realised how badly until he had his hands on her. Now she was reasonably sure she would die if she didn’t have him completely in the next few breaths.  
  
“Did my prepared girl bring any condoms?” Steve asked nuzzling her neck. He didn’t have any. He had thrown them all out when he thought he had lost her. He wished now that he had thought to pick up a new box. Or at least to ask if she had any before now.  
  
Amy bit her lip. This stalling was driving her crazy. “In my gear bag. You know the pocket.”  
  
He slid easily into her wet slit. She clung to him, and he crushed her to his chest in response. She hardly touched the bed as they rocked together. They were practically attached at the mouth, neither willing to stop their kissing to do more than grab a breath before locking their lips together again. Steve felt like his skin was on fire everywhere they were in contact. He knew from the start he wouldn’t be able to last long this first time. It had been too long, and he had missed her too much. He wasn’t worried about it. There would be other rounds, both tonight and in the future.  
  
Steve rolled onto his back. He wanted to be able to really see her when he finished. He also wanted to free up his hands to touch more of her. Her skin was intoxicating. Still so soft, even crisscrossed with tiny ridges and uneven spots.  
  
Amy sat up straight, rolling her hips. Steve’s hands caressing along her sides and over her legs. She had missed his touch. The way he devoured her with his eyes. Everything about him. One of his hands traced the curve of her face and she captured it with her own. Holding it against her cheek. Steve rubbed his thumb over her lips. Amy parted her lips and sucked on the tip. Eyes closed. A moan escaping her as he pressed down on her tongue.  
  
That was enough. She had the most amazing mouth. Pert little bud always ready with a sarcastic comment. It was even better with something in it.  
  
They came practically simultaneously. Amy slumping forwards onto him with a half scream at the same time Steve thrust up into her for a final time.  
  
With a groan Steve lifted her off him and lay back against the pillows. He reached around her to peel the condom off and toss it in the trash. She grumbled and clung to him sloth like to avoid being dislodged by the action.  
  
Amy buried her face in Steve’s chest. Her breathing slowly levelling off. All of her muscles loose. A warm glow better than any blanket spread out from the hand in the small of her back. She had missed him so much. She was never as peaceful as when they were safely together. It was early, but she was sure if she fell asleep now, she would be able to sleep for hours.  
  
Steve ran a hand over her as she dozed. The sharp jut of her ribs and the way he could her hip bones digging into him was discomforting. He could do something about that. Gently sliding her onto the bed, he slipped out from the covers.  
  
“No. Where are you going? You were so warm.” Amy grumbled sprawling into his vacated space.  
  
“My girl needs to eat.” Steve rubbed his hand through the fluff of her hair. “I’m going to get her some food, so she doesn’t have to get up.”  
  
Amy stretched languidly. “Okay. If you insist.” He would come back with something delicious moment, and then he would hold her until she fell asleep. She wished they could have this all the time, but she really should be getting back to her real life.  
  
*****  
  
Steve rested on the pillows half asleep. They would have to go to breakfast soon. Soon, but not yet. For now, he could just lean back and listen to Amy showering and getting dressed. Water running, the rustle of cloth, never any footsteps or extraneous noise. He loved watching her glide around the room too, but he’d have to open his eyes to do that.  
  
There was something comforting and familiar about dozing while the person he loved puttered around him. Something that made whistled strains of music drift through is head. He stopped himself. That didn’t make sense. Amy didn’t whistle and he’d never had the chance to have this with Peggy.  
  
The only person who had whistled around the apartment while getting ready was Bucky. He had been suppressing his love. What if Amy was right and he was projecting onto her?  
  
Steve opened his eyes. Amy was standing at the foot of the bed wearing only her jeans and some lacy thing too flimsy to really be called a bra. Droplets of water rolled down her neck and settled on the towel draped around her shoulders. She was beautiful. She was always beautiful. She deserved the world. He couldn’t leave her and break her heart. He needed her to know that. How else would she feel safe letting him have even a piece of her heart? He shuffled to the end of the bed. Planting his feet on either side of her. “We should talk about it.”  
  
“Talk about what?” Amy smiled at him as she towelled her spiky hair. She liked having him close to her like this. With luck he would spread those big warm hands around her waist pull her even closer. Then they could work out a schedule for seeing each other. She would be allowed to start her real work again soon, not just the paperwork she had been reduced to.  
  
“About Bucky.” He said softly. He wondered if it would be better to hold her for this or if that would only make her feel trapped. His sweet Amy felt trapped so easily, especially these days. Amy turned to the side. This was not a conversation she had been expecting today. Between the new information Nat had uncovered and Steve’s realisation that he loved Bucky it wouldn’t be an easy one if they got into it. “I’m sorry Sweetheart. There really hasn’t been much progress the last few months has there. I’ll put out a call to my contacts that might know something now that I’m back. Nat has a few feelers out too.”  
  
She pulled a shirt over her head. She needed to tell him something to give him hope. “I think we should look at the financial angle. Stealing everything he needs to live would draw attention, so he has to be getting money from somewhere more legitimate. I doubt he’s let himself get entered into any data bases, which means nothing legitimate. He is either getting paid under the table or he has access to some old Hydra or Leviathan accounts.”  
  
“Amy.” The name came out as a whisper. He didn’t want to distress her, but she was avoiding the real topic.  
  
She knew what he wanted, and she didn’t want to think about it. Things were simple and happy right now. Would it be so bad if they stayed simple for a little longer “Personally, I’d lean towards old accounts. Under the table would put him in someone else’s debt.”  
  
“Amy.” Steve grabbed her hand.  
  
“I think I can come up with some parameters for the kind of accounts and transaction we are looking for.” She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand but refused to look at him. “We might need Tony to write some code to trawl through the bank records. The digital aspect is slightly beyond my scope.”  
  
“That’s not the part we need to talk about, and you know it.” He pulled her in, so their knees were touching.  
  
Amy closed her eyes. Of course, he wouldn’t just let it go. He was too damn noble to let things continue if he thought he was using her at all. “We don’t need to talk about the other part. I knew going in to this and I won’t try to stop you from doing what you need to do when the time comes.” “What do you mean?” He dropped her hand and set his hands on her hips to steady her. There was something slightly off balance about the way she was standing.  
  
Amy cupped his face. He needed reassurance. She couldn’t blame him. How many women would put up with having that kind of timer on a relationship. Amy was grateful for whatever time she had with him. He was worth it. “I mean, let us find him before you start worrying about him coming between us. You’ve got me.”  
  
*****  
  
Amy left in the afternoon. Her departure softened with copious kisses and a promise that Steve would visit her in Japan as soon as he could get away.  
  
Steve watched her car pull away conflicted. He didn’t want to tie her down. But should he have let her leave when she was so clearly convinced that he loved Bucky more than he loved her.  
  
He didn’t know if that was true or not. He did know that it didn’t matter. Bucky had been free for two years now and he hadn’t even tried to contact Steve. Amy had asked for him the minuet she was somewhere safe. That meant something. He wasn’t going to just drop Amy when Bucky finally waltzed back into his life.


	10. A New Team Member

Amy was determined that if she was going to be sent on boring mission like checking up on wayward magicians, then she should also be allowed to do more interesting things. Proving that she had in fact recovered enough to return to the field had kept Amy very busy over the last few days. There had been a battery of tests. Several of her aunts had come to the school to spar with her. She was slower than at her peak, but she could still hold her own.  
  
Her aunts had left, confident that she was on her way to recovery and properly one of them now. While Amy was pleased about the first point, she was less excited about the second. I had some uncomfortable connotations that she wasn’t entirely prepared to deal with. Luckily, she didn’t have to deal with the implications of that just now. Even if Dai kept trying to get her to. She had Steve to talk to every evening and a team to rebuild.  
  
In her glory days as a teenager she had led a team of ten. Now they had dwindled, leaving her largely inactive squad for greener pastures. She was down to just three plus herself, Dai, Samurai, and Demon. She didn’t need to bring them all the way back up. Most of their work would be protecting the new royal couple and Kiki could take care of herself for the most part. Still she needed at least one more. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone she wanted was claimed by another squad and she was reluctant to break up a good team without cause.  
  
She and Dai had spent a very unsuccessful morning testing available candidates. She had hated all of them. The walk back to the pavilion had devolved into a tirade on sloppy training and poor conditioning. As they crossed into the wooded area surrounding the pavilion Amy spotted one of her shortlist of unavailable candidates leaning casually against a tree.  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow as the younger women dropped into step beside her. Yuma, bright, talented, a very promising young ninja. Promising and in the wrong place. Her commander was leaving for a mission in the next ten minuets. “I would have thought you would be on your way out with Bakudan.”  
  
“I’m not on his team anymore.” The girl grinned and ducked a low hanging branch.  
  
“Oh? why not?” That was interesting, Yuma was just coming into her own in the field. Amy hadn’t heard of any disciplinary issues. So, if she wasn’t attached to a team, she had quit. There were only a few reasons someone of Yuma’s skill and age would quit and Yuma didn’t look pregnant.  
  
“You won’t poach people if you think they are on a good team.” Yuma shrugged. “Now I’m not on any team.”  
  
“A bold decision.” Amy snorted and crossed her arms. The girl had guts, Amy couldn’t fault her on that. “What if I don’t take you?”  
  
Yuma tucked her hands into her pockets. “Then I find another team. But you will. You like people who make daring choices.”  
  
“I like making daring choices for myself.” Amy said shooting Dai a look. This changed things. If Yuma had freed herself up in order to try for Amy's team there was no reason not to take her. “Relax. I do like people who commit to a choice. We’ll take you for a trial. Dai.”  
  
Dai grinned. “Already on the roster.” Bakudan had told him about Yuma’s resignation as soon as it had happened. They had both known that there was only one reason she would quite one of the best teams, and that Amy would snap her up as soon as the option was there.  
  
Amy smiled back. Trust her cousin to have taken care of it before she ever had to. He had probably heard about the plan before anything had even happened. It was what made him such a good second and one of the reasons she loved him so.  
  
*****  
  
The analytical part of Amy’s mind started ticking before they made it back to the pavilion. A full team meant she could make more progress on the project she had been working on before Korea. The Yakuza, specifically the branch that had been controlled by her ex-boyfriend and his family, had been allowed to move unchecked for too long. They brought in drugs, weapons, even people, with little or no resistance. Amy wouldn’t stand for it any longer. It was her fault that they were so powerful in the first place. If she hadn’t let her heart override her duty, they would never have been able to. She had let it happen, had even helped, it was her responsibility to clean up the mess… and she would never really be freed as long as Jun'ichi’s compatriots we still benefiting from the work she had done.  
  
Jun’ichi was dead. As were several other important members of his crime family. Members who might be able to hold some of the things she had done over her head. Amy still had work to do if she wanted to burn them out and cleans her home of the infection. Complicating the matter was the fact that most of her remaining targets had fled the county. Taking sanctuary with client gangs in nearby countries. She had locations for most of them. Only Jun’ichi’s cousin Lan has effectively eluded her, and she was pretty sure the fastest way to flush him out was to take care of the others.  
  
“We should bring up that mission in New Zealand. Our team at full strength again. The groundwork is in place. A few weeks to break Yuma in, then we’ll go in on the third of next month.” She said kneeling neatly at her dressing table. The silk wrapping her head slipped back as she reached for a tube of lipstick. Amy flinched at what it revealed. She needed to get back into the field, it would distract her from her hair and everything it meant for her future.  
  
Amy pulled her scarf off her head and scrubbed a hand over the soft fluff covering her head. It was almost two inches long now. Its bright white colour still a reproach. She missed the long ebony waterfall he had before. Her hair had been her crowning glory. Now it was a reminder of the most painful night of her life. And the uncomfortable future ahead of her.  
  
“I’ll write up some specs for you to go over.” Dai watched his cousin fuse in the mirror. The white hair made her look like a moon maiden out of the old fairy-tale. He could picture what she would look like when it grew out. She’d be even more glorious. “When are you going to stop hiding your hair. You turned your collar, Amy. It’s an amazing achievement and you should be proud.”  
  
Amy shook her head. Bright-eyed foxes’ hair changed colour when they preformed a great service for their empire. Their hair turned white, they stopped ageing, they became essentially immortal. Some of them did anyway. Most Foxes died in the attempt. Her mother’s sister had died in the attempt. In the entire history of the fox clan seven woman had survived. Eight including Amy. Four of them had ‘turned their collar’ in a ceremony preformed by Amy’s grandmother. Four had died and come back. Including Amy. The only problem was she didn’t deserve it. “I failed to die in an explosion. I hardly think that makes me a hero.”  
  
Dai rolled his eyes. She had impossible standards for herself. “Yuuki negotiated a treaty. If she deserves to turn her collar, then you do too.”  
  
“She stopped the invasion of our country by a hostile foreign power.” Amy let her hands drop into her lap. She didn’t deserve the honour of being an immortal fox. She had made more mistakes than any of the other surviving foxes. She had miss used her powers. She had almost betrayed her country. Had runway from her responsibilities for years. She hadn’t even continued the bloodline. She was a week link.  
  
Dai knelt next to her at the mirror. Some days it felt like half his job was to give her enough perspective to stop her over thinking everything. “And you stopped a major nuclear attack.”  
  
“I pulled a lever.” She should have been able to get in and out cleanly. She could have, if she was better. If she had used her powers more efficiently. If she had moved faster. If she hadn’t been so proud and had asked for help sooner. If she had been perfect.  
  
“The hair doesn’t lie Amy.” Dai fluffed the back of her head. This sort of thing had rules. Rules that Amy knew just as well as he did. At least she did when she wasn’t deliberately forgetting them. She wouldn’t have survived if she wasn’t worthy. “You earned this. Wear it proudly. At least think about it.”  
  
Amy pursed her lips. She wasn’t a total failure. She knew that. If she was anything other than a bright-eyed fox of the fox clan, she would consider herself one of the best spies and assassins on the planet. In time she might be able to prove herself to her own standards. “If I promise to talk to my therapist about it will you drop it?”  
  
“Yes.” That was progress. Being willing to talk to her therapist about anything real showed real growth and self awareness. She had earned a reprieve. Dai kissed her cheek. “I will even add black hair dye to your grocery list.”  
  
“Before London?” Amy asked hopefully.  
  
Dai rolled his eyes. Trust her to worry about something as silly as public image when godhood was on the line. “Yes.”  
  
“I promise.” Amy held up her little finger. Dai twisted his around it to seal the promise. She would do anything he asked of her. She would burn the world to the ground for him. She could do this.  
  
“That’s my girl.” Dai rested his head on her shoulder. It would take time, but she would work through this and come out stronger on the other side. Dai would hold her hand as long as she needed, but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone else she trusted in her corner. And her new lifespan would affect how she viewed any long-term relationship. “So, when are you going to tell Steve?”  
  
“When it’s relevant.” Amy flicked him in the forehead. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to get her to share her burden with the man she adored. The idea of out living everyone she loved was only causing a mild existential crisis. Steve had enough to carry without her mess. Her mess was only temporarily in his life anyway. Once he had his Bucky back, she would slip out of his life. Leave him to be happy with the second love of his life. She had him for now, and she wouldn’t tarnish what little time with him she had with her insecurities.  
  
Dai wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently. She was so brave most of the time, and such a coward when it came to her heart. “And people think you’re unflappable.”  
  
Amy leaned into the hug. “I’ve always said people are idiots.”


	11. Back at work and Unprepared

Amy’s office was a study in organised chaos. The normally tidy space was covered in piles of papers and at least three running computers. Ōjo was curled on one of the keyboards purring contentedly.  
  
Amy herself was ensconced in front of the largest glowing screen with a holographic floor plan shimmer to her left and several half-translated pages on her right. Her unsheathed naginata rested on a shelf behind her. The end of a trail of discarded gear that hinted at her having come straight from training. Her damp hair was pushed back with a headband, the newly dyed stands finally long enough to fall into her eyes without it. Having been cleared for field work Amy fully intended to hit the ground running. More than a month of forced in activity had left her bored and itching for a fight.  
  
Dai dropped a stack of documents through the hologram, blotting out the floor-plan. “We have a problem.”  
  
Amy flipped through the papers. The ambassador to China was in custody. Mixed in with transcripts of Chinese agents’ chatter were security camera photos of him being shoved into an unmarked van with a bag over his head. “How long ago did they pick him up?”  
  
“He turned himself in. About twelve hours ago. As you can see it didn’t go as planned.” Dai pulled a photo from further down the stack. Ambassador Goda in hand cuffs being herded onto a very recognizable train.  
  
Amy snorted. Peering closely at the picture to see if she could make out who was directing the prisoner loading. “You’re assuming he didn’t want to end up in Shenzhen Prison.”  
  
“Who _wants_ to end up Shenzhen Prison?” Dai leaned against the edge of her desk. Watching her intently.  
  
Amy smirked up at him. There was an obvious answer to that question. “Someone who needs to get at someone that is already in Shenzhen Prison.”  
  
Dai's eyes went wide. His cousin had had crazy ideas in the past. But this… “No.”  
  
Amy grinned roguishly at him. It had been ages since there was a defector to deal with. She would enjoy this. She flicked her Naginata into the air and caught it with a flourish. “Relax Dai. I know what I’m doing.”  
  
*****  
  
Dai had been right of course. Getting arrested was a terrible way to get into a prison. Amy had stowed away on the prison train instead.  
  
The train only ran once a day. It stopped at the prison for two hours to unload supplies and transfer prisoners. If Amy didn’t want to spend the night laying perfectly still on top of a wall, she would have to move fast.  
  
Luckily whoever had designed the surveillance system had failed to think three dimensionally. Everything was watching for people moving on the ground Amy disdained the ground, especially when she was on her own.  
  
Much of the prisoner housing wasn’t covered by cameras at all. Instead guards patrolled at regular intervals and all doors in and out were monitored by key cards. Amy waited twenty minutes after she saw a patrol enter her target block and shorted out the door. In the five seconds it took the door to rest she was through and re-concealed without triggering any alarms.  
  
There was someone else moving around the prison. Amy hadn’t been able to spot them yet. Or even hear them really. But Amy was sure they were there. Flashes of a dark figure in the corner of her eye drafts where there shouldn’t be any. Most damning was the eviscerated corpse three cells down from her target.  
  
Recently eviscerated. The blood splatter hadn’t fully dried yet. He had been killed about ten minutes ago by her estimates. His death wouldn’t have been fast. Whoever had killed him must have followed right behind the last patrol. A risky strategy. More time to work, but a higher chance of the first guards running behind and catching you.  
  
Senses on alert she continued on her mission. Someone else being here didn’t affect what she was here to do. At least, it didn’t as long as they stayed out of her way.  
  
Her interview with her target passed quickly. He had betrayed their country, and his betrayal had been met with suspicion by the Chinese. He had given them very little information so far, most of it was unimportant or easily changed. Unfortunately for him, he had willingly gone over. Which meant this was not a rescue mission. Poison was in undignified end for a former ambassador, yet somehow the one he deserved. It would take a better coroner than the one employed here to determine that he had died of anything but a heart attack. There would be some investigation with a second death in the building. She was optimistic that the drastically different cause of deaths would obscure suspension. There was also the possibility that Goda's death would be blamed on the shock of the murder down the hall, she doubted it had been silent.  
  
She nudged his slumped form disdainfully. “Be thankful your family will not be held accountable for your sins.”  
  
Thirty minutes later she was safely back on the roof of the train. Just in time for it to pull out of the station. She stayed pressed into the security cameras' blind spot as they trundled through the gate.  
  
The train rolled slowly down the hill. No alarms went off. No troops moved from their stations. When they passed the emergency checkpoint without slowing, Amy breathed a sigh of relief. No major obstacle stood between her and her exfiltration point now.  
  
There was still the matter of the shadow that had been in the prison. She had memorised the list of prisoners who would be on the same hall as her target. The corpse belonged to a Serge Polechako. She had recognised the name of course. Former Hydra. Part of the division that specialised in political assassination. She had thought he had been taken out in Hydra’s last internal purge. Evidently someone with ties to both Hydra and the Chinese government thought he was more valuable alive. And someone else had disagreed.  
  
Who else was breaking into one of China’s most nutritious prisons? Who else was good enough to do it without setting off alarms? Who wanted Serge Polechako dead?  
  
The shadow hit Amy at an angle sending her sliding along the roof of the train car.  
  
Swearing silently, she rolled to her knees. Feet inches from the edge. Dagger in hand. She pulled up short. She recognised that shadow. That was not who she had been expecting.  
  
“Here to kill me little girl?” Metal arm glinting, the winter soldier shifted so his face was bathed in moonlight. Rifle slung across his back. A handgun levelled at her chest.  
  
Amy sheathed her dagger. It would be useless anyway. Better to look like less of a threat. “Here for Goda. Surprised to see you, if I’m honest.”  
  
“Goda? Weaselly little guy. Wouldn’t stop whimpering.” He held a hand up to approximate the other man's height. The winter soldier tipped his head to the side curiously. “What did he do to get a Fox sent after him?”  
  
“Betrayed us.” Amy snorted, she could just picture Goda snivelling on the floor as he listened to the winter soldier work down the hall. How he had ever ended up as a trusted ambassador was beyond her. No spine to speak of.  
  
She was more interested in the mental state of the man that currently had her in his literal sites. He was asking questions which was promising. If he was back on a leash it was a long one. Time to extract some information. “What did Serge do to end up with you on his trail?”  
  
“Used me.” His tone was icy cold. Sharp edged and harsh. Amy wondered if that had always been his angry voice or if he had developed it in the last 70 years.  
  
“I saw your work. You’re an artist with a blade.” She had been aiming for nonchalant and it had come out more flirtatious. Not ideal. Better than tense and antagonistic.  
  
Slowly he lowered the barrel of the gun. Amy let herself breath again. He cocked his head to the side considering her. “You tried to kill me last time I saw you.”  
  
“Technically you tried to kill me, and I used a minimum of force to escape.” Amy said scanning for other enemies. It had taken six thrown darts. More than she had ever used on Any other single target. He had shot her twice, and she hadn’t even seriously injured him.  
  
A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes. Memories warring to break through a block of some kind. “Why did I try to kill you?”  
  
Amy shrugged. That’s probably what she would have asked in his position. “I killed the person you were protecting.”  
  
The Winter Soldier nodded. He lowered his eyes considering the new information of the context of his memories. Now would be the time for her to make a break for it if she was going to get away from him.  
  
Amy weighed her options. She could cut and run. Leaving Bucky here without even trying to get him back to Steve felt like a betrayal. If she could get a hand on him, she could take control of his emotions and force him to come with her. She didn’t think Steve would approve of that option either. She also wasn’t sure she _could_ get a hand on him. Not when his entire left side wasn’t a target.  
  
Which left talking him down. Also not a great option. There was a tunnel along this stretch of track. They couldn’t just stand her talking forever.  
  
“You know we have a mutual friend who would very much like a sit down with you.” Amy kept her voice calm and dispassionate. Feeling him out. They had been talking nicely so far, but that could change rapidly. She slipped her mask off and hung it on her belt. Real eye contact was better for building trust.  
  
“A mutual friend?” His eyes narrowed sceptically. Amy wanted to roll her eyes at that. It should narrow the list right down. Steve had told her the story enough times while he tried to work out what had happened to Bucky. There was only one person who was enough of an idiot to have called the Winter Soldier his friend while being repeatedly punched in the face by his metal arm. Her idiot, and his.  
  
“The man from the bridge.” She shot a glance towards the front of the train. The tunnel was in site. She needed to speed this up.  
  
The Winter Soldier furrowed his brow, recognising who she meant but unsure of the connection between them. “How do you know him.”  
  
“Like I said we're friends.” Amy brushed aside the question. They would deal with the relationship between her and Steve when they weren’t hurtling towards a rock face. “Will you see him? I can have him anywhere you want to meet within 12 hours.” Probably less she mentally adjusted. Steve would drop everything and fly super sonic if he thought he would see Bucky at the end.  
  
“No.” The statement was simple. No elaboration or explanation. He didn’t sound angry, more resigned.  
  
She should have expected that. It wasn’t like Steve was hiding. If Bucky wanted to see him all he had to do was show himself. Luckily, she held more than one card in this hand. “What about Ryzhiy? She wants to see you too.”  
  
“So, they are together. I thought my mind might be combining events again.” His mind was visibly churning. Too many ideas bouncing off one another. Nothing sticking quite the way it should.  
  
“Not _together_ together,” Amy did not want to find out how Bucky would feel about Steve and Natasha dating. It was about 50/50 whether he would be pleased or try to kill someone. “But he's looking after her for you. Come with me. Come in from the cold.” She held out a hand in invitation.  
  
Bucky shook his head. “I can’t yet. I have a mission to finish.”  
  
The tunnel was getting closer. They needed to get down before they got there. Maybe even off the train entirely. Amy flicked her eyes toward the gaping space. “We can help wi-“  
  
The shove caught Amy firmly in the chest sending her over the side of the car.  
  
Sloppy. Sloppy and stupid. She mentally chastised herself for letting him get that close. The tunnel engulfed the train leaving her enough space to hold on, but not enough to climb back to the roof. Amy clung to the side of the car pulling herself as tight against the metal as she could. She closed her eyes and reminded herself to breath through it. Just keep breathing and regroup on the other side it was a technique she had used to get through worse situations than this. It was still an amateur mistake that had landed her in this situation in the first place.  
  
Cold fresh air struck her face as the train emerged from the tunnel. She let out the breath she had been holding. A mistake but not a fatal one this time. She scrambled up the side of the car.  
  
The roof was deserted. She hadn’t expected anything else. He wasn’t going to just hang around after pushing her off a moving train.  
  
Amy sat down heavily, train rocking violently under her. She had been within arms length of him and she had let him get away. “Fuck.” Stupid. Sloppy. Amateurish. She had let emotions influence her instincts. Had been so distracted by the idea that she needed to get him back to Steve that she had forgotten that he wasn’t the Bucky from Steve’s stories.


	12. Some Things You Don't Tell People Over The Phone

“So, I was in Shenzhen visiting a friend.” Amy perched herself on the edge of Natasha’s desk as casually as she could manage. She was still on edge. She shouldn’t even be here, she had responsibilities at home. Dai was covering for her, but she wasn’t sure how long he could manage that for.  
  
Natasha didn’t question how Amy had gotten into her office or why she was here when she was supposed to be preparing for a summit in Singapore. Priorities shifted everyday. If Amy was here, she had a good reason. She would tell Nat exactly what it was when she was ready. “I thought you weren’t allowed into China. Did you dye your hair?”  
  
“Yes. And no, I’m not. Haven’t been since I was 15. Not the point.” Amy waved away further questions. Nat either knew about the 2007 assassination of the governor of Jilin or it wasn’t relevant to this conversation. She continued in an airy tone. “My friend is very inconvenient to visit. Lives at the top of a fucking mountain only one train a day and very unfriendly neighbours.”  
  
Natasha raised an eyebrow at that. Shenzhen. Quite the target, even for Amy.  
  
Amy ignored the look and continued her story. “So, imagine my surprise when I ran into someone who knows you and Steve on that train.”  
  
“No.” Nat stared at her incredulous. There was only one person that Amy could be talking about. Anyone else that met that description she would have just announced that she had killed and move on with the day. For that matter she probably would have texted Nat the information with a 50% chance of her communicating the information through emojis since she would think them that far beneath her.  
  
“Yes.” Amy confirmed. She would be the first to admit it was a ridiculous situation. Nearly two years of dedicated searching by some of the most qualified people on the planet and the first real sighting they had of him was an accident. “The Winter Soldier just so happened to be breaking into the prison at the same time I was.”  
  
Natasha’s eyes went huge with fear. There were a few explanations and most of them were very bad news for her _Otets_. “Is he back under? Why was he there.”  
  
“Serge.” Amy said in answer.  
  
That ruled out some of the worst scenarios, but not all of them. “Serge is in Shenzhen?  
  
“Well not anymore.” Amy rolled her eyes. Natasha could keep up with her normally so either Amy was off balance because of the Winter Soldier or Amy was overly irritable because so one had out smarter her… Probably a combination of the two. She would work on that.  
  
Natasha’s mind jumped to the worst option left. Hydra was regrouping, they were collecting the remaining leaders for a last push. If they were doing that, they would also be taking out any defectors. “Broke him out?”  
  
This time Amy shook her head. She could reassure her friend on that front at least. “Killed him.”  
  
Nat relaxed into her chair. They hadn’t caught him. As long as he was free, that was what mattered. She closed her eyes and sent a silent plea into the universe that he was safe, warm, and the remnants of Hydra still had no idea where he was. “So, either he's still in control of himself or Hydra is cleaning house.”  
  
“He seemed coherent, so I favour the former.” Amy rubbed her temples. She needed to centre. Nat clearly wasn’t picking up her nonverbal cues. Nat was good. Amy’s stress was obviously clouding matters.  
  
Nat’s eyes flashed open. “Coherent? You talked to him?”  
  
“I did.” Amy sighed. They had come to the part she didn’t want to talk about, and also the reason she was here. “He said he had a mission to finish before he could see either of you.”  
  
“Did you tell he we'll help? Because we will. Whatever it is he's doing we'll help.” Anything. Geneva accords be damned Natasha would do anything to help him. She would burn another orphanage to the ground without batting an eye. Something told her that Amy would do the same, if only so Steve could have his Bucky back.  
  
“I tried.” Amy cleared her throat in embarrassment. “That was when he pushed me off the train.”  
  
“He tried to kill you?” Nat's eyes softened in concern for her friend.  
  
Amy snorted. Pushing her off a train was a very unreliable method of killing her. “I think it was more of a distraction than an attempt on my life. He was gone when I climbed back up.”  
  
“He is good.” A note of pride crept in Nat's voice.  
  
Amy glared. Of course, he was good. He was the Winter Soldier. No one was denying that he was good. “He’s _not_ better than me.”  
  
“I didn’t say he was.” Nat looked at her friend’s tense posture and the nervous way she was tapping her foot. “He is starting to bruise your pride, isn’t he?”  
  
“Almost as much as he bruised my sternum.” Amy lay back on the desk, ignoring the disarray she was leaving Nat’s papers in.  
  
Nat looked down at her. There was more to this than just Amy’s pride. She was nervous about something. “You haven’t told Steve yet.”  
  
Amy rubbed her face. There was a reason she was telling Nat first and it wasn’t because she thought Steve wouldn’t want to let her out of his site after. “I don’t think he would approve of why I was there.”  
  
“You have to tell him.” Natasha propped her feet on the desk next to Amy’s head.  
  
Amy chewed her lip. She was trying to be better at communicating with him. That didn’t mean she wanted to tell him about her extra judicial killings. In fact, they had a come to understanding where they didn’t directly address what she did on her ‘missions’. “You think he’ll be too distracted by Bucky to ask questions?”  
  
Nat raised an eyebrow. For someone who could walk through a fire fight without breaking a sweat, Amy could be a real coward. “He’s in his office.”  
  
*****  
  
“Amy!” Steve jumped up from his desk. What on earth was Amy doing here. She wasn’t supposed to be free to see him for another three weeks. She looked almost anxious, and her hair was black again. Neither though comforted him. Amy didn’t get anxious about just anything, and if her hair was dark again it probably meant she was back in the field for work.  
  
“Sit down. I have something to tell you.” She took a deep breath. He had to know. “I saw Bucky today.”  
  
He collapsed back into his chair. She had… Bucky was… How?! He blinked up at her in shock.  
  
Amy perched herself on the edge of the desk, feet on the chair next to his knees. Close, but not too close. Carefully, gently, she told him the story. Leaving out her reason for being there, and Bucky’s artistic presentation of the corpse. Steve listened enthralled. His hands spammed violently when she reached the part where she was pushed off a train. Amy leaned forward so their foreheads touched reassuringly. Steve closed his eyes and took a deep steadying breath. She was safe and here, making everything smell smoky sweet. She was safe. And Bucky was alive.  
  
“I’m sorry, he got away.” Amy whispered into the bare inch between them.  
  
“Amy.” Carefully Steve reached up to cup her face. She hadn’t brought him in. It didn’t matter. It was so far from mattering. She had proved that he was still alive. That was more than enough considering the circumstances.  
  
Alone on-top of a train, in a hostile country, facing an opponent that Steve hadn’t been able to take down in a one on one fight, and she wasn’t here to make sure he knew she had survived the experience. She was here to apologise for not talking the person who had been actively avoiding him for more than two years into trusting her.  
  
She kissed the fingers cupping her face. He was in shock. He must be devastated. She had been so close. “I want to find him for you. You love him, and you deserve to have the people you love close.”  
  
Amy eased herself out of his lap. She had spent longer on this errand than she should have. She had responsibilities a world away. “I have to go. I shouldn’t have come at all, but this was something I needed to tell you in person.”  
  
She was halfway to the door when Steve shook off his daze. He caught her and pulled her back into him. His sweet girl, she took failure so hard even when there was no way she could have won. He needed to know that she knew how much he appreciated even the attempt. He covered the back her neck protectively. “I love you Amy.”  
  
Amy rested her head against his chest. His hand warm on the back of her neck. He was sweet and he cared about her so much. She would get him his Bucky back. Whatever the cost. “I know. I'll call you when I get home. Okay?”  
  
“Okay sweetheart. I'll walk you out.” With a soft kiss to her hair he let her neck go and slid her hand into his.  
*****  
  
Steve watched the car go sadly. He wished she could stay with him. Today her leaving felt like a double loss. Amy was gone and with her a small link to his missing family.  
  
He could feel Nat hovering behind him. She must have been watching for Amy to leave. That was good. He wanted to talk to her. “What was she doing in China?”  
  
“She didn’t tell you?” Nat asked curious. Amy had been nervous about his reaction, but Natasha had thought she would have to give him at least the broad strokes as part of her explanation.  
  
Steve suppressed a wry smile. She had said that she was there for work and then started telling him about seeing Bucky on the train. She hadn’t wanted to talk about why she had been there, and he hadn’t wanted to ask, not when she was so upset at loosing Bucky. “One of the many things the two of you have in common is the ability to avoid questions you don’t want to answer.”  
  
“Her country had an ambassador defect. She had to take care of it.” Nat said firming her stance as she explained the whole story. Amy didn’t come off to badly all things considered. Treason was treason after all. Steve was nothing if not patriotic.  
  
Steve closed his eyes. Nat frowned at him. “See, that disappointed look is exactly why she didn’t tell you.”  
  
Steve shook his head and started back inside. He understood where Nat was coming from, but she had missed the mark this time. “I’m not disappointed in her.”  
  
Natasha did a double take pushing open the door. “You’re not?”  
  
He weighed his words as they walked down the hall to the elevator. “I’m disappointed in myself.” Nat studied him carefully. He really was conflicted about what had happened. “Why?”  
  
Steve leaned against the wall, arms crossed on his chest. “Because she killed someone in cold blood, and I am way more concerned with the fact she put herself in danger to do it.”  
  
Nat nodded a few times as the elevator door opened. “What are we going to tell Tony?”  
  
“About what?” Steve asked stepping inside and punching the button for the residence floor. He doubted Tony would care about the Japanese ambassador to China.  
  
Natasha rolled her eyes. “About everything. If we can get Barnes to come in, we are going to need to tell him something.”  
  
“I don’t know. He hasn’t fully come to terms with the whole situation as it stands.” Steve sighed and clapped Nat on the shoulder. He didn’t want to hurt his friend. “Let’s not ruin his life until we have to. Knowing the details will just make it worse.”  
  
Natasha chewed her lip. Steve had a point. But she couldn’t help thinking this would all blow up in their faces later.  
  
*****  
  
A: What if we get ahead of him?  
  
N: The Winter Soldier?  
  
A: What if we start taking out the people on his list before he can.  
  
A: We can leave little love notes for him.  
  
A: Show that we are on his side.  
  
N: Even if he doesn’t believe us it might make him curious enough to meet.  
  
N: I'll start on a list.


	13. A Minor Freak Out

A: Good new. I’m currently persona non grata at the negotiations for a new ambassador to China.  
  
S: The country with the worlds largest military thinks you killed someone in their custody and that is good new?  
  
A: First of all. Nat is a rat for telling you and I may never forgive her.  
  
A: Second. It means that no one needs or even wants me in Japan this weekend.  
  
A: Third. That really depends how you define “largest”  
  
S: So you’re coming here?  
  
A: In the air now.  
  
*****  
  
Amy found Steve in the kitchen with Sam and Rhody. A dozen Chinese takeout containers open on the counter.  
  
“You’re just in time for dinner.” Steve passed her a plate.  
  
Amy accepted the plate and perched herself on his knee. “What are we talking about?”  
  
Steve scooped a generous portion of fried rice for her. “Our limited take out options at the compound.”  
  
Amy smiled and piled her plate high with more food. She was starving after her flight.  
  
“Your boyfriend is lame for not liking sushi.” Rhody said with a deep drink from his beer.  
  
“Steve likes sushi.” Amy said stealing a wonton off Steve’s plate. The had ordered sushi every other night while Steve was in Japan. She loved sea bream, Steve preferred tuna. Amy didn’t blame him for not eating what was available for takeout here. The rice was always terrible.  
  
Rhody choked on his mouthful of beer. “What!?!”  
  
“I like _good_ sushi.” Steve replied retaliating against Amy’s pilfering by swiping one of her spring rolls. “Amy’s is better than yours.”  
  
Sam cackled and slapped Rhody on the back to make sure he was breathing. The boys spent the rest of the evening interrogating Steve on things they had assumed he didn’t like. Fancy coffee? Yes, but it took him a while to crack the code of what meant what. Bald Eagles? Very symbolic, but he was attacked by one they were using in a propaganda film. Porn? Way easier to get to than back in his day. Amy almost fell off the stool laughing at the reaction to that answer. Steve caught her around the waist and hauled her back into his lap. What the others didn’t know, didn’t need to know, was how much better than anything filmed Amy was.  
  
A crashing disturbed their desert of mango ice cream. Amy was on her feet before the source of the noise made it into the room. A distraught Natasha cursing in Russian followed by a deeply concerned Vision.  
  
Nat fixed her attention on Amy as soon as she spotted her. None of the others would have answers. Amy might. “_Why isn’t he in any of the files?_” She snapped in Russian.  
  
“_Why isn’t who in the files?_” Amy responded in the same language.  
  
“_Why isn’t Alexie in any of the files. There is no record of him after I left. Nothing from this century. He should be at the top of the Soldier’s kill list and I can’t find anything on his location or what happened to him after ‘84._” Natasha wasn’t panicking. It wasn’t like this discovery changed anything. He hadn’t found before now. There was no reason to think that he had found her at the exact moment she had found the missing information. Why were all the windows in here so big? Reinforced or not they wouldn’t stand up to more than one missile.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked getting to his feet but keeping an arm around Amy protectively. One of his girls up distraught. The other confused. This didn’t bode well for any of them.  
  
“Have you ever heard of an Alexei Shotakov?” Vision asked obviously perplexed. He had searched every data base he had access to, and he couldn’t find any reference to an Alexei Shotakov that would have agent Romanov this worried.  
  
Steve shook his head. It wasn’t a name he had ever seen in a briefing. Either in the war or since he had been defrosted. “No. Who is he?”  
  
“A Russian operative that has greatly distressed Ms. Romanoff.” Vision replied drifting closer to the group.  
  
Amy looked confused. “_He's dead._” None of this made sense. Alexei had been dead for decades. Natasha had to know that. Otherwise she would spend too much of her time looking over her shoulder.  
  
“_Alexei doesn’t die. I’ve seen him close so many times, but he always pulls through. Always…._” Natasha was stopping herself from hyperventilating by sheer force of will. She hadn’t managed to stop herself from touching the gun in her holster every few seconds just to confirm that it was there. She should have figured out where he was before now. Why hadn’t he figured out where the hell he was before now?  
  
Amy shook her head. This shouldn’t be news to Natasha. She should _know_ this. “Not this time. This time he’s dead. It’s why they failed coming after you. That’s why you survived leaving him.”  
  
“_You can’t know that._” Natasha shot back. Amy didn’t know everything, and she couldn’t know this. “_You didn’t kill him._”  
  
That was true. He had died before Amy had even been born. But there were better killers in this world than Ayame, killers that Nat would trust with her life… killer. There was only one other person Nat would trust to have successfully taken care of Alexi, conveniently the same man who had done so. “_Zimniy Soldat did. Your father did._ Bucky _did_.”  
  
Steve swivelled to stare Amy. That was Bucky’s name. They were talking about Bucky. What did Bucky have to do with Natasha freaking out.  
  
Amy ignored him. None of the men in the room were relevant to this conversation. This was about Nat and her personal security. She needed to know. Both that she never had to fear an attack from that quarter, and the effect her defection had on the Winter Soldier. “_Tore him apart like tissue paper when they were both ordered to take you out. It was the first sign that the brainwashing was breaking down._”  
  
Natasha shook her head in disbelief. That was impossible. If that was true, she would have spent years waiting for an attack that could never have come. “_It can’t be that long ago. I would have known. Someone would have told me. You would have told me._”  
  
She should have. She had failed one of her best friends by not confirming that she knew before this. Amy had known that it wasn’t in the data dump from S.H.I.E.L.D. She should have known that it had been scrubbed well enough that no one would find it if they were digging around in old Winter Soldier files in obscure archives. That was on her. She hadn’t wanted to bring him up, she hated talking about the person who had abused her, and she assumed the same was true of Natasha. “_I thought you knew. Hydra buried it, even internally. Their attack dog going rabid isn’t something they wanted to admit to. Let alone him going rabid and killing their golden boy._”  
  
Amy could see that her friend still didn’t believe her. She could understand why Nat would take some convincing. If someone had told her that Jun'ichi had been dead for almost the entire time she had been hiding from him she wouldn’t have believed them either. “_Think about it, Nat. Maybe you could have hidden when you were off the reservation and maybe you were valuable under S.H.I.E.L.D. control when they could pretend you were someone else. But you’ve been in the public eye as yourself for two years now, four if you count the_ Chitauri _thing in New York. If he was alive do you really think he would have let you gallivant around rubbing your independence in his face like that?_”  
  
Nat's voice broke as she switched back to English. “I was under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection….”  
  
“Not in the beginning, and S.H.I.E.L.D. _was_ Hydra.” Amy pushed back. She needed to get Natasha thinking for herself again. There was enough evidence if she just knew to look for it and put it together. Amy knew how badly this kind of panic could cloud logic. Hadn’t she spent almost five years trying to hide from her own trauma. “It wouldn’t even have been hard. An accident on a mission. An explosion. No body. Everyone says how tragic it is, but these things happen. Black Widow gets a star on the wall of heroes just down from your _Otets_. Best case scenario they actually kill you in that explosion.”  
  
Amy held out her phone. Thanking all the gods that she had uploaded her Winter Soldier research to the cloud. She had files. Nat could confirm for herself. They were heavily redacted. The faces of the dead in the photo’s were blurred out. Amy only had them because of her obsession with the Winter Soldier. Officially the incident was recorded as ‘Winter Soldier Disciplines Defectors Husband and Associates’. No names. No locations. But Amy had seen enough photos to know what the inside of Leviathan’s main facility looked like.  
  
Natasha took the phone. Even if I hadn’t been blurred out the faces wouldn’t have been recognisable, there was hardly anything left of it. Nat didn’t need a face though. She knew that Scar on Alexie’s neck and shoulder. She had given him that scar. One small revenge. He had never left scars on her. Not physical ones.  
  
In the background a semi subdued Winter Soldier glared at the few survivors. His hands were stained red almost to the elbow. A handler gripped the back of his neck. Natasha could almost hear the gears of his mechanical arm whirring. They always whirred when he was agitated. “I need to read this.”  
  
“Take your time. I can pull any other documents you want.” There were others official government documents. Memos to allies explaining why their request to borrow any of the top three Soviet killers were being put on indefinite hold.  
  
Nat left without addressing anyone else in the room. She had a lot of documents to go through and even more to think about.  
  
Amy slumped back into Steve’s chest. No one had lied to her for years, but she still felt betrayed. How could they have deceived Natasha like that.  
  
Steve’s arms went around her automatically. Whatever had just happened had his girl deeply upset. Shotakov had a lot to answer for.  
  
“What was that all about?” Sam asked looking slightly shell shocked by the blistering conversation. Half of which had been in a language he didn’t speak. None of which he understood. “Who’s Shotakov? How is he related to Nat and the Black Widow?”  
  
“You have to be married before you can be a widow.” Amy’s jaw was tense, her hands balled into fists. Steve’s warmth at her back wasn’t helping dispel her cold anger like it normally did. They hadn’t told her. How had no one told her? How much easier would Nat’s life have been if she hadn’t spent it on guard for the one man who could get under her skin. She was going to slap Furry when she saw him. Maybe Clint too if he didn’t have a good explanation.  
  
“Are you telling us that Nat and this Shotakov guy were….” Rhody’s head swivelled around. Marriage didn’t sound like Nat. They were friends. They watched Game of Thrones together. They talked about his mother’s surgery and his sister’s divorce. It would have come up. Wouldn’t it? Who didn’t mention being married? Especially when the person you were married to freaked you out that much.  
  
She shook her head to clear it. Nat hadn’t told them about her past. Amy couldn’t break her trust by sharing it without permission. “I’m not telling you anything. It isn’t my story.”  
  
*****  
  
The night had wound down pretty quickly after that. A weight seemed to have settled over the group. No one seemed able to relax. By nine everyone started retreating to their private rooms.  
  
Steve had Amy curled in his lap and was gently running his fingers through her short hair. With her face into his neck and her cold toes tucked under his leg, it was hard to remember what she was. What she had been trained to do. Why she knew too much. But she had definitely told Nat something that surprised the assassin and that something had definitely included Bucky’s name. “You won’t tell us about Nat and Shotakov.”  
  
Amy rested her head against his chest. She wished she could explain, but she suspected that the facts she knew wouldn’t convey the whole picture. “I told you, it’s not-“  
  
“Not your story to tell.” Steve parroted. She was right. Nat’s story was for her to tell when the time was right. That wasn’t what had him worried. “I get that. What about Bucky's part in all of this? Can you tell me about that?”  
  
Amy sighed. Of course, he was worried about how Bucky related to something that had freaked Nat out so thoroughly. But explaining how Bucky related with out explaining the everything was like trying to pull one thread out of an embroidery and have it make any sense. “Steve. You know I would, but Nat is very protective of her past, it’s all jumbled together.”  
  
There were very few physical records of Natasha’s life before her defection. Amy wouldn’t know half of what she did if she was anyone else. Foxes had sources that the average human didn’t have access to though. Steve had figured hat much out at least.  
  
“But how is Bucky jumbled in?” It was largely a rhetorical question. Amy had made it clear she didn’t have any further answers for him. These little glimpses of what had happened to Bucky, what might still be happening to Bucky, they didn’t have any firm proof that he really had escaped, drove him absolutely crazy. If you knew what you were looking for, he was always lurking around the edges of history. Steve wanted to know what had happened to _him_. Not what the Winter Soldier had been forced to do, what his Bucky had gone through. What they had done to force him? Had he been allowed to make any decisions himself? Had he known Natasha before she was Natasha?  
  
“He trained me. Practically raised me.” The voice behind him made Steve jump. He really wasn’t used to people being able to sneak up on him. Natasha stood in the doorway. The panicked look had left her, but her hair was in disarray and she had changed into her coziest sweater. “The man you call Bucky is the closest thing to a father that I can remember.”  
  
She met Steve’s eyes. Pushing her shoulders back to regain some of her normal confident air. “I need to tell someone, and I don’t think the others will understand.”  
  
Amy looked between the two of them. This was going to be a long and intense conversation. “I’ll make tea.”  
  
They sat in silence while Amy was gone. Steve at one end of the couch, doing his best to project the calm confidence of a leader who people needed him. Natasha curled in an armchair. Mostly she focused on either Steve or her hands. A few times he caught her staring into the middle distance, eyes like a hunted animal.  
  
Amy returned carrying a tray with good tea set that she had brought with her on her second visit. The silence continued as she set the tray on the coffee table and poured three cups.  
  
Steve watched Natasha fret in her chair. Nat didn’t fret. She didn’t waste movement. It was obvious she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to begin. “Why now? You knew that Bucky and the man who raised you were the same person for years. Why tell me now?”  
  
“Where do I start?” Natasha asked. Looking to Amy for reassurance that she was doing the right thing. It was hard to part with secrets. Even harder when they were her own.  
  
“At the beginning. It won’t make sense without the timeline.” Amy pressed a cup of tea into Nat's hands. Nat gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting her take her place on the couch next to Steve.  
  
“In 1964 I was recruited by Leviathan scientists to be a test subject in new series of red room experiment.” She had only told this story once before, and she had left out a lot of what she would have to add today. Natasha inhaled a breath full of the tea’s fragrant steam. Amy had been right to make some, it helped. “And by recruited, I mean they bought me from my parents.”  
  
“Nat that is twenty years before you were born. I have near perfect recall, and I’m not about to forget our conversation with Zola in a hurry.” They had just started, and he was already lost. Steve looked at Amy out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t seem confused or even surprised.  
  
Nat shook her head. Steve would remember specific dates he had learned under pressure. As far as she was concerned, she had been born in 1984. “I defected in 1984, part of me died when I did. And part of me was born. Natalia Alianovna Romanova was born. Natasha Romanoff was born. That’s not who I was before. The girl I was before was born in 1956.”  
  
Steve leaned forward. Brows furrowed. That was not a small development. “Who were you before?”  
  
Amy set a hand on Steve’s arm. That was his desire for there to be an absolute truth showing through. It wasn’t that easy. Nat’s real name had been taken from her before she really had a chance to make it her own. The first name that had really belonged to her was the one she had picked during her defected Nat was Nat and that was what counted. “It doesn’t matter, that girl is dead.”  
  
“_Thank you._” Nat mouthed silently. She was going to have a hard-enough time telling this story without dragging ghosts that hadn’t come back to haunt her. “When I was eight, the state took me away from my parents and enrolled me in the red room. A couple of years later I was moved to an advanced class, taught by the Winter Soldier.”  
  
Natasha had vivid memories of meeting him for the first time. He had been so cold to everyone, then she had gotten into a fight with one of the girls who had stolen food from another classmate. The Winter Soldier had lifted them apart like kittens. She had thought she would be punished for starting a fight, she had been in the younger class, you only fought when they told you to fight. Instead he had cleaned her cuts and told her it was good to protect those who needed it. From then on, he had kept an eye out for her. He had always been there to pick her up when she fell. He hadn’t spoken much, at least not in Russian. At the time she hadn’t know why he seemed more comfortable conversing in English, now it made a kind of twisted sense. Orders in Russian. Affection in English. “I was his favorite. He always looked out for me. Taught me slang during our English lessons. Made sure I got enough to eat. That I had the best blankets.”  
  
Steve leaned forward and squeezed her knee. Bucky always had been a mother hen. If he had adopted a little Natasha, Steve was sure he would do everything to take care of her. Especially blankets he had always worried about the cold.  
  
The Winter Soldier’s attention had translated into more personal attention from the other trainers. They hadn’t taken it easy on her. Before she had known it she was receiving extra lessons in dance, in elocution, in combat, and marksmanship. “There were seven of us in my class. I was the best.”  
  
Extra lessons had felt like a punishment at the time. Her teachers had all been so stern with her. As a girl she had assumed she needed extra work because she wasn’t up to standards. The only one who had ever told her she was doing a good job was the Soldier who had beamed like a proud father every time she hit the bull’s eye. It had been a slip the first time she called him _Otets_. She had been a little girl desperately craving the affection of a father. And he had lit up at the endearment. The it was a private thing something she could only call him when they were alone on the shooting range, or when he took her on long tacking walks. She called him _Otets_, and he called her _Ryzhevolosaya Decochka, Ryzhiy_ for short. It had been pure affection. An unconditional paternal love, and she had flourished under it’s light.  
  
“Because I was the best, they wanted me to marry the best. I was dancing at the Bolshoi when they arranged for our marriage. We wouldn’t be able to have children of our own. That wasn’t a problem. They would assign us a child later if they needed to for the propaganda. Alexie was their star test pilot.”  
  
“The space race was mostly over but the race for the perfect stealth plane was just beginning. They needed to prove that our military were the best. That we were a superpower that could rival a country that had landed on the moon. We didn’t have the same kind of computing power or engineering they did in the west. We did have pilots who were brave and strong and smart enough to compensate. Alexie was the best of those pilots. He was brutal, in the air and on the ground.” Natasha rubbed her left wrist. How many times had it been reset? The incidences had blurred together in her mind over time.  
  
“They stopped letting him fly anything other than propaganda flights and the most important covert missions after we were married. We were too valuable as the perfect soviet couple. It was hard on him. Having his wings clipped like that. The sky was the place where he felt most himself. Most powerful.” The end of his flying had been the end of the best part of their relationship. They had almost been good together right after a flight. He had almost been kind and attentive. When he touched her, it was almost affectionate. Completely different from how he was after a long stretch on the ground.  
  
“My work didn’t stop though. I still had to dance. Still had to…” Natasha trailed off. Still had to do all sorts of horrible things. “They made Alexie one of my handlers, since he wasn’t flying. It was strange. My husband would take me to the best hotels in eastern Europe, but it wasn’t his room I would end up in at the end of the night. He was always jealous afterwards, but what could we do? It was our duty to the Motherland.”  
  
“Sometimes the Winter Soldier, my old teacher, your Bucky, would be assigned to the same mission as I was. Those were the best missions. For me anyway. They tended to be less about getting information or material for blackmail and more about… well about killing people.” The Winter soldier she had know as an adult had been a different man. He hadn’t been as talkative. He hadn’t smiled at her or tried to make her laugh. He also hadn’t let anyone demean or threaten her. Amy time Alexi had gotten aggressive, her _Otets_ would materialise in the door. With a dark brooding glare. He would beckon her to come with him and Alexi would let her go. He had been terrified of her _Otets_. They would practice hand to hand combat. Or he would have her check his calculations for what shot he was supposed to be lining up. Anything to give her an excuse to stay safely near him and help her remember that she was strong. It was almost the only thing he had said to her in English during that time. ‘You are strong baby girl. That is what scares him. Don’t let him take your strength.’  
  
“Did you love him? Alexie?” Steve asked leaning towards her again.  
  
“I don’t know.” Nat sigh. When things had been good, they had been amazing. Alexi in a good mood he had been like the sun. He had made her laugh. Even when things hadn’t been good, she had been desperate to please him. Every time he raised his voice or his hand, she had been sure it was her fault. That she was the reason the sun had gone down. Was that love? If it was it hadn’t been a healthy love.  
  
Steve shook his head. He didn’t care about the other man. Whoever he was, he scared Natasha and Bucky didn’t like him. That was all the information Steve needed. Alexi Shotakov was bad news, Steve would have killed him himself for what he had obviously done to Nat. There was only one man he cared about. “Did you love Bucky?”  
  
“Of course. He is my _Otets_, and I’m his _Ryzhiy_.”  
  
Steve looked between the women confused. He had no idea what most of those words meant. Amy covered a smile with her hand. “He still doesn’t speak Russian… or Japanese.”  
  
Steve sat back and glared at her. “Okay. I’m fluent in English, French, Irish Gaelic, and Latin. I’ve learned Arabic since I woke up and my German has gotten a lot better. Pretty much everyone else thinks six languages is impressive.”  
  
Nat relaxed in her chair. She had gotten it all out. She had told Steve and he hadn’t thrown her out of his rooms. “_Otets_ means father, and _Ryzhevolosaya Decochka_ means redheaded baby girl. There was never anything romantic about our relationship. He was my family though. All the family I really had until Clint.”  
  
“Does Clint know all this?” Steve asked softly. He would hate for Nat to have to repeat all of this when she clearly found the experience draining. But Clint should know.  
  
Natasha nodded. “I told him everything when he came to kill me. It’s part of why he brought me in instead of taking me out.” Clint knew everything about her past. They had spent enough nights sitting up waiting for the people coming after them to arrive. She had intended it to be a final confession of sorts. An attempt to make sure _someone_ knew what the KGB were doing. She had been sure that they would find her quickly once she stopped moving. There had been an attempt.  
  
“What’s the other part?” Steve asked rubbing his eyes. He was sure it was going to be truly ridiculous. No one in his life was sane.  
  
“The fact she broke into his safe house, woke him up with coffee, and told him she was tired of being a mercenary.” Amy said into her cup of tea.  
  
“What is that saying? A sword without a sheath soon rusts.” Nat said lifting her own cup.  
  
“Something like that.” Amy smiled. Nat would be okay. She knew she was safe now. She would be able to breath. Amy knew that feeling. Her friend would be more than okay.  
  
“And Clint was the first person to come after me that I thought was doing it for the right reasons.”  
  
“Wait. If you defected in ’84, how old was Clint when he came to take you in?” Clint wasn’t that old. Peggy had still been S.H.I.E.L.D. director in ’84. Steve had some unresolved issues with S.H.I.E.L.D., but he had thought most of them had developed under Furry. He wasn’t sure what he would do if Peggy had been running child soldiers.  
  
Nat winced. That was Steve’s worried face. Clint had been young, but not _that_ young. By Amy and Nat’s standard he had started late. “Well I spent a few years as a free lance assassin….”  
  
“Eighteen.” Amy said refilling her now cold tea. Nat glared at her. Amy sipped her tea innocently. He would have figured it out eventually. “It’s not like math is hard. Clint was sixteen when S.H.I.E.L.D. took him in and sending him after you was one of the last things Peggy did before retiring.”  
  
“S.H.I.E.L.D. started him that young?” Steve’ fists clenched. Sixteen wasn’t awful. It wasn’t great either.  
  
Amy shrugged. At sixteen she had assassinated the Russian ambassador to Poland and been shot by the Winter Soldier. Residential training at S.H.I.E.L.D. was tame by comparison.  
  
“It was that or prison. They caught him trying to boost some of Stark’s technology for the gang he was running with at the time. Furry thought he had promise so he convinced Carter to keep him on. I’m glad they did. Most other agents wouldn’t have taken the time to listen to me first.”  
  
“It’s good to know he always collected misfit toys and didn’t just start with the twins.” Steve wasn’t pleased at the idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. used teenaged agents, but still wanted to hear the rest of this story. “So, S.H.I.E.L.D. took you in.”  
  
“They destroyed all evidence of my past. I decision Hydra apparently agreed with if it meant I was back under their thumb.” Natasha was still more than a little bitter about that. Hydra had corrupted her home. Endangered the people she loved. Undermined everything good she had tried to do for years. And they were still out there. “They made Clint my partner since I didn’t really trust anyone else.”  
  
“Then what?” Steve prompted. They were getting close to her joining the Avengers.  
  
Finally, Nat smiled, wide and warm. “Then Tony Stark woke up in a cave, Thor crashed in New Mexico, they found you in the ice, and I got an even bigger family.” A family. A home. People she could count on and trust. People who trusted her. First the Avengers. Her boys who trusted her implicitly and respected her intelligence as well as her skill. Now Amy. Her mirror universe twin, who understood her like no one else. Someone who had grown up trained to the life like she was, but in a kind and loving family.  
  
It had been a good few years. If they could get Bucky to come in from the cold… If her father figure and only person she really cared about growing up could be safely welcomed into the fold… Everything would be good. Better than it ever had been.  
  
*****  
  
Hours after Nat went back to her rooms, Steve and Amy were still in his sitting room. Amy had migrated down the couch and was tucked neatly under his arm, as they sat in contemplative silence. It wasn’t the evening Steve had hopped for when Amy had said she was coming over. Nat’s story had been a lot to process. All he wanted to do now was make sure the people he cared about were safe. He wanted to make sure no one would ever toy with his girls’ emotions again.  
  
For now, he would have to settle for cuddling Amy and making sure she knew she was loved. That thought jarred something in him. Knowing who you loved and who loved you should be simple. Especially if there were no other loves clouding the issue. “How does she not know if she loved him?”  
  
“It isn’t like loving you.” Amy cupped his face softly. For everything he had been through it was amazing how kind the world had been to him. She hoped it would stay so kind. “Loving you is easy. You are kind and gentle. Loving someone like Alexie or Jun’ichi is more… complicated. They make you work for their affection. Make you want to do anything they ask you to if it earns their love. Make you want to do anything to please them. I don’t know if I can explain it to someone who hasn’t experienced it. You want to give them everything. Just so you can get a little piece of them back. You want to prove that you are worthy of that love.”  
  
Steve lifted her into his lap, holding her protectively. He didn’t like the thought of either of his girls trying to please people like that. They were so strong and determined. Neither of them took shit from anyone. “I still don’t get it.”  
  
Amy tucked her head under his chin. “Love is a stupid emotion. She might not know if she felt it now, but I guarantee she thought she did then.” It was good to be safe in his arms. Normally being reminded of her relationship with Jun’ichi left her anxious and high strung. Steve grounded her though. It was a calm love, deep and unshakable. The exact opposite of what she had thought was love before. She hoped Nat would find this someday.  
  
Steve frowned. No, he definitely didn’t like the thought of his girls feeling like that. He was offended by the idea that anyone would make them question themselves like “How do you forgive someone you love for treating you like that? For hurting you, and forcing you to hurt others?”  
  
Amy leaned back to look at him. “Steve. Bucky shot you multiple times and left you half dead on a riverbank.”  
  
It wasn’t the same. Bucky hadn’t been able to help himself. He hadn’t wanted to hurt him. “Yeah, but he pulled me…. I see your point.”  
  
The silence grew around them again. He would do anything for the people he loved. He could hardly imagine what he would do if they tried to get him to prove his love by supplicating himself. “You can always say no. When I ask for your help. You can always say no if you’re uncomfortable. I’ll understand.”  
  
Amy let out a shaky laugh, something too close to a sob for comfort. “I expect you’re going to ask me to assassinate your enemies in cold blood less than he did.”  
  
Steve froze, his hand on the small of her back. Assassinate. Enemies. Cold blood. He had turned her into his pet killer. He had always assumed that whatever Jun’ichi had done to her had been unrelated to her life as a Fox. That it had been like their relationship at the beginning. Separate. Not that Jun’ichi hadn’t _known_ about Amy’s other life. But that he had supressed that part of her. If he hadn’t, if he had abused her abilities. Amy was a force of nature. The amount of damage he could have done. “How long?”  
  
“From when I first told him I loved him, until I realised, he didn’t love me.” Almost two full year. Countless deaths. No. Not countless. One-hundred-twenty-six. She could probably name them all if she put her mind to it. It wasn’t that they hadn’t earned their deaths. Most of them had been Jun'ichi's rivals. Criminals, smuggling drugs, weapons, people. Most of them had been very bad people. Most of them…  
  
Steve could feel the panic building inside her. “And hit him with a fish.” The attempt to lighten the atmosphere fell flat, she didn’t laugh or even smile. But it did jar her out of the spiral which was the important part. He could feel her breathing again. His own heart was pounding. He had learned to much tonight. He didn’t think he would be able to sleep for processing it all.  
  
“A bit of an oversimplification, but yes.” She had done slightly more than hit him with a fish. He hadn’t been alone for one thing. She had been forced to kill several other people as well. She hadn’t been armed. She had been forced to improvise weapons. There had been a lot of blood involved. She could still taste it sometimes when she had a panic attack.  
  
Steve kissed the top of her head. With her arms around his neck and the soft flutter of her heart against his chest. She felt so much more fragile than she normally did. He knew he would do anything to stop someone from trying to use her like that again. How dare anyone ever use her affection to leverage her into doing something she didn’t want to do. “That’s why you don’t say it isn’t it? Because he used your love against you?”  
  
Amy turned her face hiding it in the warm wall of his chest. He was Steve. Her Steve. Captain America. He was completely trustworthy. “I know you won’t, but….”  
  
“There’s knowing and _knowing_.” She knew it the same way he knew that no one was going to attack him inside the compound. If he thought about it, he was sure. That didn’t help in the middle of the night. _She_ did help in the middle of the night. Which was why he didn’t need to hear her say she loved him. He knew she loved him. She showed it every time she flew around the world for him. And by sleeping with him when she wouldn’t sleep when anyone else was in the room. “It’s okay sweetheart. I’ll say it enough for both of us.”  
  
He turned her face up to his. “I love you Amy. And I will never ask you to do something you don’t want to do.”


	14. September Vogue

Breakfast at the Avengers compound was the quietest meal and usually Steve’s favourite of the day. Dinner tended to be rowdier. Lunch was usually grabbed on the fly whenever one of them had time rather than as a group. Schedules normally synced up for breakfast though. The early risers just back from their morning workout. Anyone who slept in finally awake. Everyone would drag themselves into the kitchen, find their preferred sustenance and they would sit and eat together. To Steve, it felt like family.  
  
Tony was back for the weekend. Officially just to upgrade their operating system, but Steve was pretty sure that Tony had missed them. Pepper had come with him to keep him from getting distracted. Tony’s visit meant that breakfast was even more of a production than normal.  
  
All of the complex’s residents were seated at the long table the centre groaning with food. Tony had spent the early morning cooking up a storm with Pepper supervising.  
  
There were mounds of fruit. Stacks on pancakes and waffles. Huge bowls full of scrambled eggs or oatmeal. A tray overflowing with bacon and sausages. Jugs of juice and coffee. Everyone had been presented with a green smoothie as they sat down. Steve would feel like it was a decadent waste of food if he didn’t know how much the team could put away. Pretty much everything would be gone by the end of the meal and anything that wasn’t would be leftovers for lunch.  
  
Bubbles of conversation swelled and diminished like waves. People asking for their favourites to be passed. Questions about someone’s plans for the day. It was very companionable. About half of the people at the table had something to read with them. Natasha had a printout of some report or other that she was marking up in red pen. Vision was doing a crossword with Sam and Wanda, the paper spread where a plate would go since he wasn’t eating. Pepper had a stack of brand-new magazines that she was opening and marking articles she wanted to read. At the head of the table Steve had the New York Times folded next to his plate and was engrossed by an article on health care costs.  
  
At the far end of the table Pepper slit open the plastic wrapper on another magazine and stopped dead. “Oh my god.”  
  
Steve looked up from his paper. Pepper wasn’t normally that expressive unless Tony was blowing something up, especially not before her first coffee.  
  
Pepper passed the magazine she was holding to Tony who all but choked in his smoothie. “Oh my good giddy aunt. Does this make him the cool one? Because I’ve slept cover models. Pepper has been a cover model. I think I should still be the cool one.”  
  
“You’ve slept with cover models?” Pepper said coldly. One eyebrow arching delicately.  
  
“Other than you. I slept with the other girls. I've more than slept with you. You’re pretty and smart and I’m going to just stop talking now.” Tony babbled shoving the magazine towards Rhody and grabbing Pepper's hand.  
  
Rhody picked up the magazine and whistled. “Vogue does have a little more prestige than Business Weekly Pep. This might make Steve cooler than Tony.”  
  
Rhody slid it across the table to Sam. “Well shit. That is something.”  
  
Nat took the magazine from Sam’s hand. “I don’t see the big deal.”  
  
Steve sipped his coffee carefully. Pepper was staring at him like he had done something strange. Maybe someone had decided to do a new line of Cappets dresses. Was vintage show girl back? He would ask Fredrick next time he was in Japan. “Am I going to get to see whatever it is too or…?”  
  
“It’s Aims.” Nat said with an eye roll. She tossed the magazine to Steve. He caught it before it could spill his oatmeal.  
  
Six figures graced the cover, three of them familiar. Fredrick sat proudly in a wing backed chair in the centre of the photo. Dai draped over the left arm, Amy perched on the back, three other models were arrayed around them in various elegant poses, sitting at Amy's feet, leaning against the chair next to Dai, sprawled out flat in front of all of them.  
  
Amy had her face turned away from the camera, hair falling in a long dark sheet over her shoulder. Steve recognised the dress she was wearing as the same one she had worn last new years eve. The layers and layers of semi-transparent fabric.  
  
Fredrick was wearing an all white suite with a blood red tie. Dai's jacked was clearly fashioned like a traditional kimono jacket with boxy sleeves. The others were likewise dressed in pastels and fabrics that hinted at her country’s distinctive style. Wide belts. Flowing sleeves.  
  
‘Fashion’s Rising Sun: Fredrick Williams Takes Tokyo’  
  
Steve smiled at the photo and its caption. “Fredrick deserves it. Can I read this when you’re done with it, Ms Pots?”  
  
“I- of course…. Did you know?” Pepper asked studying his face intently.  
  
Steve shrugged. He was with Nat on this. Amy was gorgeous enough to be able to get away with anything. If she was on a magazine, she must have her reasons. He would ask about it, but it was probably nothing. “I heard rumours about Fredrick getting a cover. September though, that’s a big deal.”  
  
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s great for Fredrick. Good exposure or whatever.” Sam snagged the magazine back and began flipping through to find the article. “I think the part everyone is freaking out about is the fact your girlfriend is on the cover of Vogue.”  
  
Wanda leaned across Vision on his other side. Pushing on Sam’s wrist so she could look at the cover while he flicked through the pages. “She looks good with long hair. Is it a wig?”  
  
“No, that’s what her hair looked like before her attempt a dying dramatically. I’m telling you it’s not a big deal. Aims wants people to ignore her when she’s out with Kiki. One of the best ways to do that is for people to have a neat box to put her in. Hence pretty model friend.” Nat said stirring more sugar into her coffee. It also meant that Amy wasn’t hiding anymore. Her vendetta with the Yakuza must be going well. That was good, if she could clear that up it only meant good things for her relationship with Steve. Nat would have to ask about it the next time they checked in. “Eat your eggs. There is a meeting about the rebuilding in Sokovia in twenty minutes and we are supposed to be Skyping in.”  
  
*****  
  
_Darling of Milan, New York and DC, Fredrick Williams shocked the fashion world when he packed up his label and moved everything to Tokyo. Fredrick has always been a maverick preferring to be based outside of the main fashion power hubs. “I want to work somewhere with unique energy. The life of a place influences the clothes.”_  
  
Fredrick hit the ground running in Japan. Less than a year, and he already has an imperial patron. Crown princess Kiyoko, know affectionately as Princess Kiki by her subjects, is a notorious fashionista and has been spotted several times wearing Fredrick’s unique modernist interpretations of classical styles.  
  
The article was accompanied by more photos. Fredrick in his work room. A candid shot of Kiki on the street in a chic confection with a giant bow belt. Amy in the layered dress with her Arms spread wide to show off the sleeves. Amy and Dai laying with their heads together in perfectly tailored office wear. Five or six of the other models in different fabulous outfits.  
  
Steve had to appreciate Fredrick’s artistic eye. All of the pieces had a kind of balance and symmetry to them. It was no wonder Amy loved wearing his clothes. They were all made to accentuate the wearer, not outshine them. And they did make his Amy shine. He snapped a photo of the magazine cover.  
  
Steve: Looking good sweetheart. When did you take these?  
  
Amy: God I forgot all about that.  
  
Amy: We did the photo shoot last spring before Kiki’s wedding.  
  
Steve: Never thought I’d get to say I’m dating a Vogue cover model.  
  
Amy: Who exactly do you want to tell?  
  
Steve: Eventually? Everyone.  
  
Steve: Right now? I can stick to bragging to my team.  
  
Steve: They are blown away BTW.  
  
Steve: I think Pepper almost fainted.  
  
Amy: Thanks for understanding Sweetheart.  
  
Steve: I love you. Even if you have weird hang ups.  
  
Amy: Three words. Girl. Scout. Cookies.  
  
Steve: There are too many kinds! What was wrong with sugar cookies? Everyone likes sugar cookies! What more do you need?  
  
*****  
  
Most people did not have full cell service at thirty thousand feet. Of course, most people also didn’t have Amy's phone. She was tapped directly into the satellite grid and never lost signal.  
  
On a private jet over Europe she had five bars and a strong enough data signal to do anything she might need to do. Up to and including uploading Hydra security data and video to a dark web site so a swarm of hackers could break it down to its component parts and send her back information on who was hiding them and where.  
  
That particular task was no where near as enjoyable as talking to Steve though. So when his message had chimed in on her screen she a d set it aside without question. Nothing she was doing right now was so time sensitive it couldn’t wait until she had seen what he had to say.  
  
Amy smiled and leaned back in her seat. He was here Steve. He only ever had lovely things to say. Across the narrow aisle Fredrick lounged on the planes couch with his sketch book open in his lap and coloured pencils spilling around him.  
  
“The Avengers like your cover boo.” Amy said, tossing and emerald green pencil that had rolled into her space back into the pile.  
  
Fredrick looked up from his drawing. “Do they? I still think I look stuck up.”  
  
“You are designer to crowned heads. You’re allowed to be a little stuck up.” Amy said returning to the email she had been composing before Steve had texted her.  
  
Kiki leaned across Amy to look at Fredrick. As the crowned head in question she didn’t think it was that great of an achievement. Fredrick had been part of their little group from the moment Dai had fallen for them. Who else would she trust to dress her? It also helped that he was great at constructing garments to conceal weapons. His social contacts in the wider world were the real sign that he had made it. “You got us reservations at _Dinner_ on a night when Heston Blumenthal is actually there. You’re allowed to be a little stuck up.”  
  
“Is this list great things about Fredrick time?” Dai asked, returning from the plane’s kitchen with drinks for everyone. “Because I don’t really appreciate you girls stealing my job.”  
“Sorry Dai.” Amy and Kiki chimed in perfect harmony. They both accepted their melon sodas with demurely bowed heads that fooled no one. Dai snorted at their play acting and tucked himself into the couch behind his boyfriend.  
  
“For the record. I’m fine with it. Y'all can say nice things about me any time.” Fredrick batted his eyes at the girls who both laughed and blew him exaggerated kisses in return.  
  
As the laughter died down Amy shifted so she was leaning against Kiki with her legs over the arm of her chair. Where would she be without her friends? These were the people who kept her centred. They stopped her from spiralling and pulled her back down when she got to high and mighty.  
  
*****  
  
A distinctive bell sound alerted Natasha to a new text. Thanks to some clever coding she had managed to set it up so that when she was in the compound her favourite contacts all had customized ring tones, but when she was anywhere else everyone shared the same nondescript double vibration.  
  
That particular sound, the largest bell at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari shrine, belonged to Amy. Nat opened the message. A selfie of Amy on a Cobbled street looking irritated. She was glaring at her shoes. A pair of ridiculously high heels with thing metal spikes as heels.  
  
A: Cobbled streets and high heels are a terrible combination. Give me zori any day.  
  
N: If you twisted your ankle walking in heels, I reserve the right to laugh loudly in you face the next time I see you.  
  
Natasha was pretty sure she recognised the Georgian architecture behind Amy.  
  
N: Are you in London?  
  
A: Fashion week baby!  
  
N: Kiki insisted on going and you weren’t going to let her go alone?  
  
A: Affirmative baby!  
  
A: “Dai and Fredrick are going to be there it will be fine. Who’s going to try and assassinate me the corgis?” -Kiki  
  
A: It will not be fine. This isn’t a royal visit. We are not under the protection of the crown. Corgis are not the issue. Hard core isolationist are the issue.  
  
A: I might also maybe still be a little paranoid about her safety.  
  
A: In my defence she was kidnapped out if a hospital in the heart of our nation.  
  
A: So, I get to follow her around and pretend to be a socialite for five days.  
  
N: Yeah. Your life is hard. Parties and beautiful clothes.  
  
A: You don’t have to sound so jealous. Do you want beautiful clothes? Because I can make that happen.  
  
N: I am a world class spy and one of the most feared assassins on the planet.  
  
N: I defected from the KGB and survived.  
  
N: My team stops world ending events like alien invasion and sentient robots.  
  
A: No long skirts?  
  
N: Not for everyday wear. And no pastels, they clash with my hair.  
  
*****  
  
Over the next few days Natasha received more texts and pictures from Amy. Mostly shots of her looking bored at parties or of people fawning over Kiki and Fredrick.  
  
Based on the way Steve started randomly grinning throughout the day, Natasha suspected he was receiving similar, possibly more risqué pictures herself. Good for them. This new iteration of their relationship seemed to be going well.  
  
On the Saturday there was a run of street shots. They were different from the others. Less about what Amy was doing, more about what was going on behind her. Natasha focused on the older couple walking in the background. Doctor and Colonel Lebedev.  
  
N: Aren’t they on the list?  
  
A: I believe you have them as number 8 and 10 respectively at the moment.  
  
N: They'll probably be lower once I finish compiling. Shame you aren’t supposed to be doing any extracurricular work.  
  
A: Tremendous shame. They are even staying at the hotel we are having dinner at tomorrow.  
  
N: Shame.  
  
A: Say. We have an extra spot on the reservation. Why don’t you join us for dinner?  
  
N: I can never say no to a good dinner with friends.  
  
Nat banged her head softly against the desk. Fuck foxes and their truly uncanny luck. The Lebedev's had been on the run since Hydra fell. Several major security organisations were looking for them. Hell, _Nat_ had been looking for them even before she had started the list. No one had found them.  
  
One week in London and Ayame all but trips over them. If Natasha wasn’t so eager to get started on their plan to lure her _Otets_ to safety she would be pissed right now.


	15. Dinner and a Death (or Two)

Steve was in his private office, the one in the residential wing, when Nat found him. That was good. It meant he was working on something Avengers specific or something personal, rather than something for S.H.I.E.L.D. at large.  
  
Nat leaned against the door frame and watched him work for a moment before she spoke. His shoulders were so much more relaxed with Amy back. There was almost a glow about him. Steve in love was a sight. He couldn’t hide his feelings at all. Nat wondered if he had been like this with Peggy. If he had been it was no wonder everyone had been shocked when Peggy had married someone else after the war. How could anyone live up to that kind of sweet supportive adoration?  
  
She should feel bad about not telling him what she and Amy were about to do. But they had agreed. No telling Steve until they had some results. He would be deviated if this was a wild goose chase.  
  
Steve looked up immediately when she cleared her throat. She smiled at him brightly. There was nothing for him to worry about anyway. She and Amy could take down bigger threats than the Lebedev’s without breaking a sweat. “Hey, can you cover training? Amy invited me to a London Fashion week thing, and I thought I’d pop over.”  
  
“Pop over. To London. On a weeknight. For what dinner?” Steve pronounced each word carefully. He didn’t quite believe his ears. Nat never took time off to do something for herself. Had Amy really convinced her to do something so frivolous? If she had he would have to thank her. Nat needed to relax more. If she kept burning the candle at both ends, she would burn out.  
  
“Yeah basically.” Nat replied with a shrug. Dinner and some light assassination, or was this murder? The list was definitely full of political targets, but they were killing them for a more personal reason. Natasha filed the thought away for later. There was bound to be a lot of time spent waiting for their targets to be in position, she and Amy could debate linguistics nuances while they waited.  
  
Steve grinned at his best friend. It was good that his girls got along. “Go. I’ll cover for you.”  
  
*****  
  
Dinner was lovely. Amy and Nat her hardly distracted at all by casing their target. They did both slip off before desert to scout the lobby and for Nat to tap into the security system and take over the hotels cameras. Dai looked at them curiously when they returned halfway through the pineapple dessert but didn’t say anything.  
  
Returning to the town house where the group was staying, they collected their gear and were ready to move before midnight. Amy fell in at Nat’s left shoulder as they trouped towards the front entrance. They had trained together enough that moving together felt natural. Two elderly targets and a handful of guards. It would be a walk in the park.  
  
“And where do you think you’re going?” Dai asked from the couch in the front parlour.  
  
Amy flinched and turned to face him. She had hoped Dai was already tucked up in bed with Fredrick. Normally they were inseparable during a fashion week, and Fredrick liked to go to bed early, so he was refreshed in the mornings. If Dai was waiting up it’s because he was suspicious about what she was up to. “Nat and I are going for a run.”  
  
“A run. With full gear and a rather large box.” Dai raised his eyebrows. Amy had a true gift for understatement. There was no way they were just going on a run. There was something Amy wasn’t telling him. And if Amy wasn’t telling _him_ it had to be dangerous and probably reckless.  
  
Nat shifted her grip on the box defensively. It was inconveniently large. It was also a key part of their plan. Covert love letters were hard to do, and this first one had to be particularly good. It had to be clear exactly who it was from as soon as her _Otets_ saw it, but not something that would make anyone else draw the connection. This would work. It had to.  
  
Amy smoothed her jacket and shifted evasively. She couldn’t lie to Dai, but he wouldn’t approve. In his mind every time she got mixed up with the Winter Soldier things ended badly for her. “We might be running a little errand while we’re out.”  
  
Dai blew out a long breath. They were going to get into trouble an someone was going to get hurt. Probably not either of them. The girls would have each other’s backs, but it was still an unnecessary risk. “Anything I can say to get you to not do this? You’ve only been cleared for field work for a couple of weeks now. You can’t just act like you would have before. I shouldn’t have let you go to China and this week you are supposed to be resting.”  
  
“It’s important.” Amy said softly. She would want someone to do this for her if she lost Dai. Dai was half her soul. She would open her veins before she would leave him somewhere dangerous. Bucky was half of Steve’s soul and maybe more. Amy only loved Dai as a platonic soulmate. She was convinced that Steve and Bucky were truly soul mates and neither of them would be complete as long as they were apart. If she loved Steve at all she had to help him get his Bucky back.  
  
Nat was here. So, it had something to do with Steve. Steve wasn’t here. Which meant it was something off book. Amy wasn’t telling him anything. Important. Off book. Steve. Amy wasn’t telling him. There was only one thing that checked all those boxes. The Winter Soldier. “It’s him isn’t it.”  
  
“It’s Important.” Amy repeated meeting his eye. He didn’t need to worry. This wasn’t fighting the Winter Soldier directly. She and Nat could handle this.  
  
Dai sighed and tucked Amy’s wrapped jacket tighter around her. That was something at least. It didn’t do anything to soften the determined glint in her eyes. He knew that look. She was on a mission for someone she loved. Nothing would stop her until she finished it. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t strain yourself. And don’t get chilled.”  
  
“Yes mother.” Amy kissed his cheek. That was why she loved Dai. He was always supportive. Even when he didn’t understand. “I’ll stay safe, and we’ll be back before dawn.”  
  
*****  
  
Natasha pressed herself deeper into the shadows on the side of the building. Fashion week wasn’t the ideal time to do this. Extra street patrols made sneaking harder than it should be. “You know what would help?”  
  
“An actual sniper?” Amy scoffed into her mike. She had tried to get them one. Unfortunately, everyone she would usually call in a no questions asked favour from was ‘unreachable’ and this wasn’t enough of an emergency for her to pull them out of their own missions. So she had spent a half hour trying to line up a shot that she was sure she would never be able to make.  
  
“No offence.” Nat would have liked the extra cover. Going up the north side of the building while Amy watched the south left her with more vulnerable spots than she was entirely comfortable with.  
  
“None taken.” Thankfully, the plan didn’t call for Amy to actually make the shot. They just needed to be sure that the end result was visible from the most like sniper position. As soon as Nat made entry, she would be able to get off this roof and do what she was good at. “They’re in for the night. Any sign of their guards?”  
  
“Two patrolling the hall. I’ve got them.” A muffled thudding echoed down the line.  
  
Amy grinned. Finally. “Moving.”  
  
*****  
  
No one inside the suite was suspicious at the knock on the door. As far as they were concerned their guards were in the hall and would stop anyone suspicious from approaching. Natasha grinned wolfishly at generals shocked face when he found her facing him.  
  
He turned and tried to run. First mistake. Natasha was on him before he made it out of the entrance hall. The scuffle ended quickly. A hypodermic needle flashed into her hand. His scream came out as a wheeze as Natasha plunged the needle into his neck and is throat swelled shut.  
  
Amy burst through the window and grabbed the wife from behind before she could scream. She jammed her own needle behind her ear and the wife crumpled to the ground.  
  
She wasn’t dead yet. She also wouldn’t be alive much longer and definitely wouldn’t be moving much between now and then. Her muscles had all contracted and would stay that way. The inability to breath combined with the toxins currently attacking her brain stem, she would be dead before they finished cleaning up. There was nothing quite like a cone snail for this kind of thing. Their neurotoxins also deadened pain. Something the wife had never bothered with for her victims.  
  
Amy stepped over the body and started whipping down anywhere that could hold fingerprints. Not hers or Natasha’s neither of them were sloppy enough to leave any in such a short period of time. The couple had been staying her for almost three weeks now though, they had touched all sorts of things. Obliterating those fingerprints would only obscure what had happened here and make the events more suspicious.  
  
Natasha dragged the unconscious guards into the coat closet and jammed the door. It would be a few hours before they woke up. A few more before they would be able to attract anyone’s attention. By then she and Amy would be long gone.  
  
That done she collected the box from where she had left it in the hall and locked the security bolt behind her. One more little delay.  
  
Amy returned to the now deceased wife, dragged her body into the entrance hall and arranged her next to her husband. Unlike his serine wife, the general’s face had puffed up and turned a nasty shade of purple. There was blood leaking from his eyes and a pinkish foam around his mouth. Amy recognised those effects, and she was sure the Winter Soldier would too. Natasha must have been feeling nostalgic. “Do I want to know where you got vintage Russian neurotoxins?”  
  
Amy looked down at the corpses thoughtfully. She did not envy the medical examiner the report he was going to have to right. Two outwardly respectable EU citizens. Two different poisons. It would be hell to explain. And that was assuming he got the chance. She would have to have someone watch the investigation to stop any 'accidents' befalling the civilians. Hydra had a nasty habit of taking out lose ends.  
  
Her team needed more practice covertly following people. It should only be a few weeks. By November she and Natasha would have caused another problem to distract Hydra. If Bucky didn’t get there first.  
  
“Just something I had laying around.” Natasha waved a hand dismissively setting the box they had brought with them on table in the entrance room.  
  
It had taken them most of the afternoon to settle on what kind of love note they were going to leave so her _Otets_ would know who was doing the killing and that it was for him, without giving the game away to whoever came to collect the bodies. In the end they had settled on flowers. They really were the perfect old school way to leave a basic message. Pale purple Japanese irises, magenta spider flowers and white poppies. The entire thing was surprisingly striking. She rotated the vase, so the best side was facing the window. “Do you have clear line of sight?”  
  
Amy tapped a button on her phone and the laser-sight on the rifle clicked on. A bright red dot lighting up the bottom left side of the vase. Not bad at all if she did say so herself. “Looks beautiful. Let’s get out of here.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve: So, Nat flew over to have dinner with you and look at pretty clothes.  
  
Amy: She did.  
  
Steve: Any chance you’ll come home with her?  
  
Amy: We’ll see.


	16. Steve Really Does Like Bucky Like That

Steve was sitting at his desk when Amy arrived. He leapt to his feet. They had to talk. He had been agonising over how to talk to her about this since the last time he had seen her. “You came.”  
  
“And you’re on edge.” Amy leaned against the door frame. Something was on his mind, and from the looks of if he was overthinking whatever it was.  
  
Steve leaned forward on his fists. He could do this. He had to do this. Amy had to know that she was special. That he wasn’t going to abandon her, no matter what. “I’ve been thinking. I don’t think that how I feel about Bucky and how I feel about you really are the same thing. You don’t have to worry.”  
  
Well that she could handle. It would even be fun. Amy locked the door to his office with a click. “All right. If you don’t believe me, let’s play a little game. Stop me if you don’t like it.”  
  
“Don’t like what?” He asked curiously. He wasn’t sure he trusted that feral look. Or the way she was stalking towards him.  
  
Amy kissed his neck until he twisted around and leaned against the edge of his desk. “Ready sweetheart?”  
  
“I have no idea what I’m supposed to be ready for.” Steve mumbled nosing at her hair.  
  
Amy pulled her head out of reach. If they were going to have fun, he needed to play along. And that didn’t involve him being her sweet nuzzley boy. “Start by closing your eyes. Picture yourself back in Germany. 1943. Spring. You’re on watch, it’s that blurry time before dawn when you don’t know whether to say it’s late or early.”  
  
Steve did as he was instructed. Closing his eyes and letting her voice pull him into his memories. Lights and colours flashing behind his eyelids.  
  
“You’re just out of site of the camp. And there he is approaching through the gloom. Your Bucky. He kisses you.” Suddenly Amy’s lips were against his. This wasn’t one of her normal teasing kisses though this was firm urgent, commanding. He started to wrap his arms around her, she pressed them back into his side’s firmly.  
  
“Hold still, just listen and feel.” She muttered breaking off the kiss. “His hands are all over you. And haven’t you always wanted him to touch you like this?” Amy ran he hands over his chest, down to his hips and around grabbing his thigh firmly, rubbing her hand along the curve where his legs met that perfect ass. He knew it was her, but with his eyes closed and her suggestive murmuring so low in his ear he could easily picture it as Bucky. From the roguish grin to exactly how he would look sizing him up as he squeezed his ass. Damn she was right. He was hard thinking about it.  
  
“He hooks his thumbs into your pants and pulls. Anything you want to tell him?” Amy smirked up at him through her lashes. His lips were slightly parted, his lashes fluttered against his cheeks. He was coming apart already and she’d hardly touched him. Oh, this was fun.  
  
Steve could hear the teasing in her voice. He also knew that with his pants pulled away from him like that she probably had a great view of his raging hard-on. “Don’t stop.” Another aggressive kiss met that deceleration.  
  
“Bucky undoes your pants and wraps one of those strong hands of his around you.” Amy matched her actions to her words and shoved his pants down roughly.  
  
“Doesn’t it feel good, him stroking you like this? Your back against an oak tree. The smell of dawn and of Bucky so close.” He was heavy in Amy’s hand. She, but she hadn’t had her boy in a month, and she missed the taste of him. “Sit down Baby.”  
  
Steve dropped into the chair. He still wasn’t entirely sure what Amy was doing but he liked it. He liked it a lot.  
  
Amy kissed thigh. He was beautiful when he was like this. So sweetly pliable. She pushed herself between his knees. She licked along his length. Delicious as always. “Doesn’t Bucky look good on his knees in front of you?” She purred.  
  
Steve groaned and buried his hand in her hair-Bucky’s hair- her hair was about the length Bucky had kept his during the war right now and everything was blurring together in his mind. He wasn’t going to last, but he didn’t think it was worth trying to either.  
  
He gave into the sensations. Letting the soft warm feeling of her mouth take him over the edge. She swallowed him all the way down as he finished. His hand tightening in his hair.  
  
She planted a final kiss on the hard planes of his abs. It had been exactly as fun as she had thought it would be. Steve was always so careful not to pull her hair. She liked a little roughness in bed. She hoped a little of that would carry over as he left the fantasy.  
  
“It is the same thing Sweetheart.” She stood and pressed a hand to his cheek. “And that’s okay.”  
  
Steve let his head fall back. She was right. He loved Bucky. He was attracted to Bucky. He and Amy would never have been a thing if he had had Bucky when they met. “I hate when you’re right.”  
  
“No, you don’t.” Amy set her knees on either side of his hips in the chair. In a fluid graceful motion, she settled into his lap. Let him love Bucky. Right now, he was hers. She was a goddess and she wanted to be worshipped like one. Even if that worship couldn’t last. “Now show me how much you missed _me_.”  
  
“The things I do.” Steve mock grumbled as he slid his hands up her shirt. He loved her so much. Even more with how well she handled his complicated love life. The least he could do was make sure she felt as good as he did.  
  
*****  
  
They didn’t have dinner with the rest of the team. Instead Steve made them stir-fry after everyone else had retreated to do their own thing for the evening entertainments. Cooking had been something his S.H.I.E.L.D. handlers had recommended to help him reintegrate into the world. He had started with dishes from his childhood, pot roast, meatloaf, and potato bread. Things got a little more adventurous when he had been living in the tower, lots of Italian food and new American classics. He had learned to make a mean cornbread thanks to Sam. He had branched out into simple Asian food after he started cooking for Amy. His repertoire wasn’t extensive, but he like to think he did a good job of the things he knew how to cook.  
  
Amy had never complained. She couldn’t cook to save her life. His great depression up bringing had rebelled at the idea of ordering food every day, so he had learned to cook the things she liked. He had perfected a lot of his techniques when she had been missing. Cooking things that reminded him of her had helped. The last couple months he had tried to cook for her as often as he could. She wouldn’t let him take care of her in other ways, but he could feed her.  
  
They ate at the counter in the kitchen. Amy sat on the edge of the counter with her feet on Steve’s stool. Steve ate with his chopsticks in his right hand and his left curved around her calf.  
  
There was a heavy weight sitting on Amy’s left hip. A palm sized box with a present for Steve. He was rapidly becoming the most important person in her life. She wanted to keep him as safe as possible. Especially if he was going to carry her totem with him. The package had been in her sweater pocket since the plane. The afternoon hadn’t been the right time to give him her present, they had been busy catching up. Then Steve had been cooking and she had been too hypnotised by the sight of him being domestic to think about interrupting.  
  
She was fascinated by Steve’s soft side. The outside world only saw the official Steve. Captain America or his media persona. They never saw the man who hummed when he chopped vegetables. The man who insisted she taste things at every step. Who always folded his socks and liked to play with her hair. That was the man she wanted to protect.  
  
“There is something I have been meaning to give you.” Amy held out the package with a bashful dip of her head.  
  
“For me?” Steve took the box from her. She had wrapped it carefully in pure white paper with complicated knot of silver paper string. A warm ball of pleasure grew in his stomach. She had put a lot of thought into this. He shook the little box. A single small, hard object. “Should I guess?”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes at him. Steve kissed her knee and slipped the string off the box. The paper came away easily. Inside the box was a cheap flip phone. Steve raised one eyebrow curiously. “A phone? Thanks, but I do have one.” He flipped it open. There was a single number saved in the address book. Vixen.  
  
Amy closed his fingers around the phone. “In case you get into trouble. That is the number for my emergency phone. This way you can get a hold of me and I will come for you no matter what.”  
  
As far a Steve knew only Dai had the number for that phone. The few times it had rung she had left immediately. “You’ll rescue me sweetheart?”  
  
“Any time you need me.” Amy pushed his hair off his forehead softly. She would always come when he called. No questions asked. The idea of feeling that way about someone again terrified and excited her. She trusted him. He would call when he needed her, and he would never need her to do something she wasn’t okay with.  
  
“I always need you.” Steve pulled her closer to him. “What if it isn’t an emergency?”  
  
“Then you should call me on your regular phone. I'll answer.” Amy draped her arms around his neck. She would always answer when he called her. She was hard pressed not to come running every time he said he missed her. Being in his arms was always better than being alone. With him she could forget about duty, responsibility, everything that scared her.  
  
*****  
  
Steve’s eyes were starting to feel heavy, but he wasn’t quite ready to sleep. Afternoon sex, sex after dinner, and now the girl he loved half asleep her head on his chest. It was going to be a good night and he wanted to savour that rare situation.  
  
Nights were always better with Amy in his bed. She didn’t keep the nightmares away all the time anymore, but she helped. When she was here, he could get back to sleep. His nightmares didn’t include her. When he woke up, he could wrap his arms around her. When she woke up, she could cuddle close. They slept better together.  
  
“You could stay you know.” Steve spoke to ceiling, combing his hand through Amy’s hair. “You could work with us.”  
  
“I have a job.” Amy rolled further onto his chest. They’d had variations on this conversation before. They would have it again.  
  
“You’d make a great Avenger.” Steve traced the curve of her ear softly. He didn’t want to smother her fierce spark and would worry about her in the field less if he was there to back her up.  
  
Amy nuzzled his hand. She wished she could stay with him, but she had responsibilities. In an ideal world they would be able to have both. The world was far from ideal, stealing time would have to do for now. “You already have a sarcastic assassin. I can’t steal Nat’s job.”  
  
Steve chuckled and cupped the back of her head. “She’s always complaining how hard it is to wrangle us all. I bet she’d be okay with splitting with you.”  
  
“I like my job.” She mumbled into a kiss.  
  
Steve sighed and kissed her back. “And I like mine.” There wasn’t an easy solution to this problem. They would just have to keep muddling along.  
  
*****  
  
Sam leaned against the wall, desperately clinging to a Nalgene full of orange juice and ice. His running shirt stuck to him with sweat. Next to him Rhody had his hands on his knees breathing hard. It was seven in the morning. They had been up and running for two hours already. Three times around the perimeter, twenty squats or push ups every quarter mile. Nine and fifty for Steve. Sam slurped greedily at the cold liquid. Knowing Steve this was only the beginning of their work out for the day. He couldn’t remember working this hard since he graduated from Lackland.  
  
Steve jogged up looking irritatingly fresh. “You boys tired? I had a whole obstacle course planned after this.”  
  
“Sadist. Captain America is a Sadist. No one is ever going to believe me.” Rhody panted wiping his face on his shirt. There was an autumn nip in the air, but he had still pulled the old air force shirt off and tucked it into his shorts halfway through the run. “The girls aren’t even up yet.”  
  
“Yes, we are.” Wanda called. She didn’t look pleased about the fact. Dressed in yoga pants and a cut off hoody, her hair in a messy braid. She looked like someone had hustled her out of bed without any warning.  
  
Behind her, in lock step, walked Natasha and Amy. carrying long wooden staves each topped with almost three feet of polished wood practice blade. Natasha had two of the naginatas tucked under her arm.  
  
Natasha and Ayame were terrifying for this early in the day. Neither of them looked like they had been woken up unpleasantly. They were impeccably dressed and made up. Both in wrapped jackets, so heavily quilted they looked like they could stand on their own and heavy canvas pants. Nat was in all black and Amy in dark blue. There was a fierce glint in their eyes.  
  
Steve loved that glint. He was working or he would sweep her off her feet right now. “Where are you ladies off to?”  
  
“The beach. Where do you do your morning martial training?” Amy turned her face up for a kiss.  
  
Nat tapped Wanda on the back of the knee with the second practice staff she was holding. “Come on you. Time to learn to fight like a girl.”  
  
“Wanda doesn’t have to run?” Sam gasped gulping another mouthful of his drink.  
  
“Not today.” Amy said rolling her staff around her wrist.  
  
“Can I join Nat’s training class?” Rhody asked straightening up.  
  
Steve laughed. “You might want to wait and see what Wanda looks like after the girls are done with her, before you make that decision. And don’t forget, I’m the nice one.”  
  
“He really is.” An evil grin spread across Natasha’s face. The boys were welcome to join them. But if they were under the impression that she wasn’t going to work them just as hard or harder than Steve they were sorely mistaken.  
  
“Vis doesn’t have to wake up early for this sort of thing.” Wanda grumbled.  
  
“Vision neither needs to work out to stay in condition nor learn how to handle himself in a fight and control his powers.” Amy planted the butt of her staff in the ground and used it to anchor a stretch.  
  
Steve watched her muscles bunch and flex. She was still too thin. She needed to eat more. He flicked his eyes over the rest of his team. The boys had worked hard. Clint was due to land for a visit in a couple hours. They could knock of early. “He doesn’t need to eat either. What do you say we skip the obstacle course and go make some breakfast?”  
  
Amy smiled up at him indulgently. He was trying to spoil her again. Not that she minded particularly especially since it meant he would be eating too. He never ate enough considering his metabolism. That didn’t mean she was going to cut her training short. “I’m sure you can whip up something lovely in an hour.”  
  
“See you in an hour.” Steve said kissing the side of her head.  
  
Nat tapped her staff against Amy’s and nodded towards the shoreline.  
  
Amy pecked Steve on the cheek and extracted herself from his hold.  
  
Steve watched them go. Natasha and Ayame jostled each other. Playfully trying to trip one another with their staves. They looked so happy. God it was good to have her back. He couldn’t stop himself from grinning like a lunatic.  
  
“Oh man. You got it bad.” Sam laughed.  
  
Steve laughed and clapped Sam on the back. He absolutely did. “You want to spend the next two hours making pancakes or running that obstacle course?”


	17. Someone Has To Be A Responsable Adult, At Least Some Of The Time

The summer didn’t seem to want to give up its hold yet. Even in the depths of September the air was still balmy. Enticing everyone out of doors to frolic like children. It was the heated pool that had claimed them this time. With Clint here for a visit and there was even more of a party atmosphere. Half the team lounging in the bath warm water.  
  
Wanda overturned Clint’s floating chair with a wicked laugh. Clint spluttered to the surface as she swam away as fast as she could. Sam laughed hard enough to overturn his own chair. Unfortunately for him he splashed Natasha in the process.  
  
Steve watched the ensuing water fight from the rec room window. He was worried about the youngest member of his team. She seemed happy here, but he was worried that she was isolated. The rest of the team was so much older than her.  
  
It wasn’t a sound exactly that alerted him to Amy’s presence. She almost never made noise when she walked. As far as Steve could tell it was always deliberate when she did, put on for aesthetic or when it would be more suspicious for her not to. He still felt it as soon as she entered the room even facing away from the door. Maybe it was the intensity of her gaze or just the aura she projected. She curled her arms around him from behind. Sliding a hand up his chest to his shoulder and wrapping the other around his waist.  
  
Steve felt his muscles relax under the comforting touch. “I worry about her.” He murmured, kissing the hand on his shoulder. Outside Sam canon balled back into the pool swamping Wanda and Clint. Vision hovered on the deck watching the rough housing curiously.  
  
Amy stood on tiptoe, resting her head on Steve’s shoulder so they could both survey the pool area. “Wanda?”  
  
“She needs people her own age. I wish we could just send her off to college. Let her be a kid for a while.” He sighed. Wanda was levitating the pool floaty to protect herself from the splash fight that had broken out. She used her powers so naturally. She wouldn’t be able to fake not having them long term. Between that and the fact her photo had been all over the news immediately after the Sokovia incident. She would be an instant target out in the world. “But she’s so recognisable. It would put her and everyone around her at risk.”  
  
“Why not bring her with you next time you come to Katsura? Some of the students are around the right age. They can even go into the city to get away from us old people. The students can handle themselves and fewer people will recognize her in my neck of the woods.” Her voice was a sweet in his ear when she spoke again. Her cheek pressed against his.  
  
She had pulled herself off the floor, hanging off his shoulder. She was showing off how much stamina she had recovered. He should tell her off, he knew she and Nat had been training most of the morning. She might be getting better, but she shouldn’t wear herself off. He couldn’t bring himself to stop her though. The weight felt good and so did her skin against his.  
  
“And socialising my foster daughter will give me an excuse to visit more often?” He compromised by pulling her legs around his waist so he had her in a piggyback and he could take her weight.  
  
Amy planted a kiss on his temple. He was being overprotective of her. She was almost back to the condition she had been in before her accident. If she wanted to, she could do a handstand on his shoulders. She was sure he wouldn’t believe she really was better until he saw her in the field again. And selfishly she liked that so far, their time together had been peaceful. “She’s Clint’s foster Daughter, you’re more of a foster uncle. And I don’t recall ever saying my motivates were purely unselfish. It will be good for her though. To be a teenager and figure out who she is outside of the powers.”  
  
She was right. Wanda would flourish in Katsura, he had seen the students there enough to know that they were happy and surprisingly well adjusted. Amy had grown up and been trained there. Her powers were the closest to Wanda’s he had encountered. It was unlikely any of the teachers would be intimidated by Wanda and if they weren’t the students wouldn’t be either. He turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. It still struck him sometimes. How wonderful it was to have her back. Her support and advice. Her playful nature.  
  
They hadn’t had a chance to be playful this visit. An idea of how to fix that burst into his head. “Is your phone waterproof?” He was carful to keep his voice casual and not give away his plan.  
  
Amy frowned and leaned back so she could see his face better. Sudden subject changes weren’t normally his style. “My phone? Of course. I’m not some savage whose phone is going to die because it gets splashed.”  
  
Steve grinned back at her wickedly. “Good.” He tightened his grip on her legs and pushed through the door to the pool deck.  
  
Amy screeched in protest but clung tighter. She had clearly guessed exactly what he was doing. Steve launched them into the pool causing a tsunami that washed over the pool’s other occupants and the deck soaking Vision’s feet.  
  
Amy glared at him as they resurfaced. “Jerk.”  
  
*****  
  
Bed was perfect with Amy curled tight against his side. He could feel her heartbeat in his skin. Relaxed but not yet drifting into sleep. This was what he wanted the rest of his life to be like. “Amy?” She hummed an acknowledgement and nestled closer. “I want to be a father someday.”  
  
Amy absently traced a pattern on his chest. It took her a moment to realise that it was a prayer for long life. She adored him, his sweet nature and strong conviction. “You’d make a great dad.”  
  
He kissed the top of her head. “What do you think it will be like? Our first child.”  
She hummed thoughtfully again before she spoke. She didn’t think they would end up there. But there was nothing wrong with indulging in a little fantasy. “We’ll wait until after we find Bucky. That way you won’t have to worry about him. Name him James, if it’s a boy. You'll make Bucky hold him way too soon, Bucky will panic that he'll hurt him with his metal arm. He won’t of course, because he'll be a little bit of you and Bucky would die protecting you. And he'll be perfect, from head to toe.”  
  
“Sounds perfect. When do we start?” Steve rolled her onto his chest. One hand on the back of her head the other at the curve of her back.  
  
Amy hesitated. His tone made it more than a dreamy hypothetical. He made it sound so simple. He assumed they would have children it was only a matter of when. She liked the thought of that, but there were a number of obstacles between now and then. “Maybe in a few years.”  
  
“You don’t sound sure.” Steve fluffed Amy’s hair, he hated seeing her off balance.  
  
“…..I’m not sure I can.” Amy traced the line of his collar bone, careful not to meet his eyes. She didn’t want to see the hurt there when he realised the truth. No Fox had ever had more children after turning their collar. It was hard to say why, most of them were largely celibate afterwards. “I was pretty cut up in the explosion. They were more concerned with other things when they were putting me back together. I don’t know if everything healed right. I do know that even if it did heal right, I should give it some time before I get pregnant. Don’t worry about that part though. We’ll get you your family sweetheart. One way or another.”  
  
Steve tipped her head so he could see her eyes. “I have my family. You’re my family. Nat and Sam and Tony are my family. Bucky is my family and we’ll find him. Anything else is extra.”  
  
*****  
  
They were sprawled across Steve’s bed again. Perpendicular to one another this time. Steve with his head on Amy’s stomach and one hand wrapped around her thigh. Amy gently stroking his hair, her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. He had spent the last twenty minutes complaining about the inter-agency task force he had been saddled with on his last mission. He understood the need to take government representatives with him. He really did. He didn’t understand why they insisted on trying to jockey for position when he was trying to save lives. Amy hummed and made understanding noises, not really contributing, just letting him get everything off his chest.  
  
That was high on the list of things he loved about her. How good she was a balancing listening with giving advice. How calming she was smiling at him. He propped himself on his elbows to get a better look at her. “What are you thinking?”  
  
Amy stoked his hair tenderly. “I don’t want to leave tomorrow.”  
  
“Do you have to?” Steve asked taking her hand and kissing her palm.  
  
He was starting to hate time away from Amy. If her ties to her country weren’t so strong, she could move in here. They could be together all the time. No more keeping in tough via text and late-night phone calls.  
  
Amy massaged his jaw. She had a mission in Myanmar. It had been in the works for months. She couldn’t put it off just to spend time with her boyfriend. “You know I do.”  
  
“Well I’d better let you get some sleep then.” He rolled onto his stomach and pulled her hips towards him. He meant that. He would let her sleep. Once he had made sure that she wouldn’t forget him when she was away.


	18. Sometimes The World Being A Better Place Makes It A Worse One

N: Someone just broke into the evidence locker at Scotland Yard.  
  
A: Oh?  
  
N: Scotland Yard doesn’t think they stole anything.  
  
N: But they definitely looked through the evidence from the Mandarin Oriental murder.  
  
Natasha attached a photo from the break in investigation. The bouquet was still in its sealed evidence bag. The bag appeared to be undamaged. If you didn’t know any better, you would think it was untouched.  
  
Amy knew better.  
  
Two flowers were missing. One spider flower. One iris.  
  
A: Interesting.  
  
*****  
  
Steve: What is the penalty for punching a sitting congress man?  
  
Amy: The fallout in the press will drive you crazy.  
  
Steve: Any alternatives?  
  
Amy: Take a vacation. Come here for a week. Bring Nat and Wanda.  
  
Steve: Fourteen hours.  
  
Steve: Maybe Sixteen. I think Nat has a meeting.  
  
*****  
  
Steve burst into Amy’s office. This visit to Katsura was supposed to be a chance to relax and re-centre. To give him time to compile new plans and write reports to keep on file. Do things that weren’t politics. He had made this mistake of reading the paper on the plane ride though. Sometimes this century infuriated him. He hadn’t even waited to help Natasha introduce Wanda to the students, had just stormed off to find Amy. He didn’t trust anyone else to understand his furry.  
  
“Have you seen this!” He slammed the news paper onto Amy’s desk in frustration.  
Amy leaned back in her chair to look at him. She adored him when he was in a passion. His eyes flashed and he rolled his shoulders with the prediction grace he normally reserved for combat. She dropped her gaze to the paper that had him so riled up. “The anti-vaxers? Yes, they are unfortunate.”  
  
“Measles Amy! _Measles_! People die of measles and they are letting them come back because they don’t understand the science!” Steve scrapped a hand through his hair. He had lived through measles. Bucky had almost lost his little sister to them. They had lost a classmate. And measles wasn’t even the worst ‘childhood illness’ that he had been told they had vaccines for now. “Thank god we dealt with polio. I’d hate to see what would happen if it came back.”  
  
“It is coming back.” Amy said distracted by a new email that had popped up on her screen. One of her contacts had gotten their hands on the Thai governments negotiation strategy for the upcoming summit.  
  
“What! I thought we had exterminated it?” Steve rounded on her. That was the most ridiculous thing he had heard this century.  
  
“No, we almost managed to thanks to an extensive vaccination campaign. Unfortunately, the crazy people that you are berating started to meddle in politics and a lot of funding has been lost. W.H.O. is trying but there are still some problem spots. We can treat so it doesn’t become paralytic at least.” She scrolled through the information. It looked good but it would require corroboration before she sent the promised bonus.  
  
Steve paced restlessly between the door and the end of Amy’s desk. “I have to do something. I can’t let children suffer the way I did Amy. I _have_ to do something.”  
  
Amy leaned back, watching him pace. He needed something to pour his energies into before he started knocking heads together. Something that would play to his other strengths. “What about a book? A children’s picture book. Then you can do a book tour with some press appearances. They will probably be more fun than the ones you do as an Avenger.”  
  
Steve stopped short. “A picture book?” It was an interesting idea. He could do a lot with a picture book, and parents were the ones he needed to educate.  
Amy gazed back at him calmly. She had his attention now. “People will be less defensive about it and you can do the illustrations.”  
  
The idea that struck him felt like one Thor's lighting bolts. “Little Stevie’s hospital adventure. Stevie and Bucky bear can learn all about vaccines when they visit his mom at work.”  
  
Finally, a smile broke across his face. He could do this. He could make a difference. It could even be a series. Stevie and Bucky Bear could go on all sort of adventures.  
  
“That sounds adorable.” Amy smiled back at him affectionately.  
  
His smile grew mischievous. “Then a series of passive aggressive lectures on the importance of immunisation disguised as interviews.”  
  
“You are a conniving man _Mon Ours_.” Amy held out her arms, inviting him in. How did anyone in their right mind keep their pants on around that smile.  
  
He leaned down to her slowly. His energy changing now that he had a plan. His brilliant girl, always ready with a solution. He couldn’t wait to get to her room and show her exactly how much her support meant to him. “You love it.”  
  
“I kind of do.” Amy kissed him playfully. She could see his desire in his eyes. Tonight was going to be fun. Once there was no more work hanging over them. For now though she had strategy to counter, and he had a book to start. “Now sit down and get to work. The sooner you write the book the fewer children get rubella.”  
  
Steve looked around for the chair that was normally tucked in the corner to be drawn up when someone else needed to sit at the desk with Amy. He was surprised to find an entire second desk had been manoeuvred into the room, set kitty-corner to her desk. “What’s this?”  
  
She grinned at him. She almost never caught him off guard. “It’s a desk. If I want you to come visit more, you needed enough space to work. You can’t live out of a file box.”  
  
With a slightly dazed feeling Steve settled himself behind the heavy oak desk. He opened the top drawer to find drawing pencils and a sketch pad. She really did think of everything. Reaching across their desktops he squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. He set to work. This at least was something he could do.  
  
Amy was in and out throughout the afternoon. Coming back sweaty from training or with a new stack of reports or with a tea for both of them. Steve would glance up and smile, then go back to his work.  
  
*****  
  
Around seven that night Amy shooed him away from his new desk and into the main room. Steve was pleased to find Wanda and Natasha already there, looking no worse off for his neglecting them all afternoon.  
  
Natasha had her head together with Demon and Samurai from Amy's team. They were chatting in liquid Japanese. Amy smiled and through a comment into their conversation as she knelt and patted the spot next to her for Steve. He settled beside her, fidgeting to find a comfortable position, keeling still wasn’t a natural position for him. Amy rested her hand on his thigh and half turned away from him to fully join Natasha’s conversation.  
  
On the other side of the table Wanda sat between Hikari and another girl in her early twenties that Steve didn’t recognise. Wanda was holding up a bowl and trying to get the girls to say the word right in Sakovian. All three collapsed into giggles every time they got it wrong. When they finally got close enough for Wanda to be satisfied, the girl to her left held up a teacup and announced the vessels name in slow clear Japanese and the process started all over again. Steve was under the impression that this was a game that had been going on for a while.  
  
Steve watched the girls for the rest of his meal. They seemed to be getting along fantastically. Wanda and the older girl… Yuma, Amy had introduced her as Yuma, both spoke Russian fluently. Hikari’s Russian was more stilted, but she seemed to be getting by. Steve’s was terrible so he couldn’t make out what they were talking about. It seemed to involve awful lot of giggling and some violent gesticulating with chopsticks.  
  
The specifics didn’t really mater. The smiles they all wore did. Amy had been right. This was good for Wanda. They clearly weren’t scared of her. She could be young here. She could make friends. Friends who would hopefully help her through her loss. It hadn’t been that long since she had lost her brother and her home after all.  
  
He relaxed. Letting his hand rest on Amy’s knee as she continued her conversation with Natasha and her team. He didn’t have to feel bad for abandoning them and focusing on his personal project. His girl would take care of everything.  
  
*****  
  
Steve got a few more hours of work in after dinner. Sketching out character designs and trying to settle on a writing style. The idea of the book was crystallising in his mind. But the more he thought about it the angrier he was at the whole situation. Not just people ignoring facts in favour of unfounded theories. It was the cost of basic medication in the first place. The entire system was broken.  
  
Slamming the sliding door of Amy’s room was deeply unsatisfying, it just clicked against the framed and bounced back a few inches. Steve looked around the empty bedroom. He had hoped Amy would be here. His mind was racing, and he wanted his girl to help him with it. He wanted to rant some more. Or kiss her breathless. Or go for a long run. Or everything. Or nothing.  
  
“What’s wrong with my bed?” Amy asked appearing behind him. She was wearing a light cotton robe dyed with a deep blue fan pattern that clung to her damp skin. Her hair was wet, the ends just starting to dry. Warmth radiated off her skin. Her team had gone to the hot springs after dinner. It had been wonderful. Steve in her bedroom was wonderful too.  
  
A ball of heat grew in the pit of Steve’s stomach. That robe practically begged to be peeled off her. Was that what he wanted? Or did he want an audience for his ranting? He still couldn’t decide. He paced restlessly instead. “You’re not in it.”  
  
“Oh. I can fix that.” Amy said throwing herself onto the mattress. Steve was looking fierce again. Her evening was looking very promising.  
  
“What are you smirking at?” Steve growled down at her.  
  
Her grin only got wider. “Just thinking about what the stuffed shirts who made you into their golden boy would say if they could see you now.”  
  
Steve took a better look at her. Sprawled on the futon at his feet. Her damp hair fanned around her head. Long legs crossed at the ankle. Hands above her head. The indigo dyed robe she had worn to the bathhouse falling open to her thighs. Steve tucked a toe under the hem of the robe and flipped it further open. She was naked underneath. “Awe baby girl. Were you just going to let me rant with you laying there all exposed?”  
  
“You seemed distracted.” Amy batted her eyes innocently. It was more fun to surprise him.  
  
Steve knelt next to her and undid the tie at the waist. In the back of his mind he registered that her skin was flawless again. So, she had found time for the cosmetic procedure. Good that meant she was looking after herself. He should ask her about that later. Right now though, making her scream seemed like a very good idea.  
  
He kissed and nipped his way along her arms, pushing the fabric ahead of him. Amy preened under his touch. Steve turned trail of kisses south. Taking his time over each nipple and easing her legs open with a hand under each knee.  
  
“This good Sweetheart?” Steve asked kissing thigh. She had come back largely naked and hadn’t stopped him from unwrapping her. Still he had to know she wanted this as badly as he did.  
  
“I swear if you don’t finish what you started…” Amy broke off gasping as he slid a finger into her.  
  
“Do I ever let you down sugar?” He purred dropping his head. Nuzzling and kissing her stomach and inner thighs. The skin was soft, he loved the taste of her and the sweet noises she made as he stroked her with his fingers.  
  
Amy grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged. Steve could take a hint. Finally, he turned his attention to the sweet little bud he had been ignoring. Swirling his tongue around her clit. She sighed in pleasure and let her head fall back.  
  
He hooked her knee over his shoulder to get a better angle. Twisting his fingers inside of her and sucking at her clit.  
  
Amy whimpered and rocked onto his fingers. She was close. He reached up with his free hand and rolled her nipple between his fingers. She gasped and squirmed. Another few strokes and she screamed his name, quivering around his fingers and under his tongue.  
  
Steve kissed his way back up her body. She was to pretty, panting on her back. He nuzzled her shoulder. That had helped. He loved hearing her scream his name.  
  
It hadn’t fully settled him though. He was still restless. His mind still too full. He needed a distraction. And he wasn’t sure he trusted himself to fuck Amy without hurting her. In this head space it would be too easy to squeeze a little too hard or lose track of the signals she was giving him. Steve’s eyes fell on the toy chest. But if she was the one in control… “Amy. Do you remember a conversation we had just after you got back?”  
  
Amy cocked her head to the side. That was an unexpected development. Not an unwelcome one though. If Steve was suggesting what she thought he was it would be an interesting night. “I think I do.”  
  
“Do you think we could…” Steve trailed off blushing.  
  
Amy rolled onto his chest. He was cute when he blushed. “I think if you’re ready you should be able to ask for what you want.”  
  
“Can we play with your strap on?” Steve grinned and pulled her closer. He knew that look in her eyes. That was the same look she had worn the first night they had fooled around together, and during the Bucky roll play, and every time he asked for some something more exotic in bed. He had her excited.  
  
Amy kissed him hard. “Yes.”  
  
“I did some research.” Steve blushed and ran a hand up her arm. “And I’ve done some of homework.”  
  
Amy purred and nibbled his neck. “Without me? We could have had phone sex.”  
  
Steve groaned and pulled her closer. The idea of her breathing down a phone line. Of knowing that he was the reason she was making those amazing noises even when he couldn’t touch her. “We can’t. Do you really think Tony doesn’t record my phone calls?”  
  
“There is that.” She slipped her hands into his back pockets. “So if you’ve done your homework I have two questions. One, is there anything you need to do before we start? And two, what do you want for warm up?”  
  
“No, I’m ready to start when you are. And as for warm up…” Steve tipped her head back. Kissing the soft thrum of her pulse. “I want to see you on your knees beautiful.”  
  
Amy smirked and hooked her fingers into the waist of his pants. “These need to come off for that to happen.”  
  
Steve hustled out of his pants, the stresses of his day melting away. Amy would take care of him. She already had her mouth on him, chasing his pants down his legs. She pushed him onto his back and settled herself between his legs. She raked her nails over his exposed thighs.  
  
He was so _pretty_ when he was eager like this. Big blue eyes looking at her like she was the most amazing thing in the world. Long eyelashes fluttering as she stroked his hole. She couldn’t wait to see how much prettier he was when he was completely undone. Supplies. She needed supplies.  
  
Steve propped himself on his elbows watching her dig though the chest. “The blue one.”  
  
Amy picked up the toy he indicated and wiggled it at him. It was a sizeable toy, long and girthy. She wondered if it reminded him of something or if he just liked the colour and shape. “Aren’t you ambitious.”  
  
“Smaller than me.” Steve said wrapping a hand around the blue silicone.  
  
Amy climbed back into his lap rubbing against him teasingly. “You aren’t exactly a size I would recommend for beginners.”  
  
Steve lifted the dildo to her lips, and she licked the length. He grinned at her teasing. God, she did look good with something in her mouth. Next time. Next time he would take her in his lap while he watched her suck on something. “Which one would you suggest I start with then? Since you’re running the show.”  
  
Amy produced a smaller peach coloured one from her pile of things. It was a better size to start with and she was sure he would like the little curve at the tip.  
  
Steve looked at the rest of what she had brought with her. The harness, a bottle of lube, and a box of gloves. “Gloves?” There were a number of practical reasons to use them in general, but he was still surprised.  
  
Amy wiggled her fingers in the air. “Nails.”  
  
“Ahh.” Steve nodded. That made sense. Her nails weren’t long, but they were sharp, a little protection wouldn’t go amiss. He gave her a long hard kiss. He knew she had this under control. He helped, or maybe hindered, her as she stepped into the harness. Running his hand up her legs and smoothing the fabric that covered her ass. The peach dido slotted into place neatly and he planted a kiss on the end of it. Making her laugh and push him back on the futon.  
  
Steve tipped his head back as she slipped one finger into him. It was so much better than when he had tried himself. Her finger was slimmer than his, but the angle was better. Her knees pressing against his hips helped keep him in the moment. His girl had him, she would make sure he felt good.  
  
Before he knew it she was up to three fingers. The other hand curled around his shaft, stroking in rhythm.  
  
“Ready for the main event?” Amy purred reaching for the bottle of lube.  
  
“God yes.” Steve growled. Reaching between his legs to help her slick everything up.  
  
She was gentle pressing in just the tip and waiting until she felt him adjust.  
  
“Keep talking to me sweetheart.” Amy kissed the inside of his knee. She needed him to keep communicating so she knew how he was doing and that she wasn’t hurting him.  
  
“More.” Steve gasped. It was so different. It was so much better. He felt full. The slight burn of the stretch added to the electric feeling. He wanted to feel the rest of her inside him.  
  
Amy’s eyes flashed and she rocked her hips forward until she was flush against him. Steve moaned and looked up at her through his lashes. She blew him a kiss and rolled her hips gently. It would be immodest of her to say she was good at this. But she was rather proud of the fact she was. She knew each stroke would brush the perfect spot to send a jolt of pleasure through him.  
  
“Stroke yourself sweetheart. I want to see you finish.” Amy ordered finding her rhythm. Worked up as he was it wouldn’t take him long. She could already see him starting to come apart.  
  
Steve closed his hand around his shaft as instructed. “God baby girl. You feel so good.” All of his nerves were sparking. Amy brushed perfectly against his prostate with every thrust. The skin under her hands felt like it was on fire. It was everything he had imagined it would be and more. Amy kissed the inside of his knee again, murmuring encouragements into the skin.  
  
Steve’s orgasm caught him off guard. Amy’s thrust coinciding perfectly with his upstroke. His mind went blank. The world narrowed down to the figure framed between his legs, dark hair and pale skin. Then even she blurred out as the final wave of pleasure hit him.  
  
Amy swiped a finger through the mess. “That’s my boy.” She licked the sticky white liquid off her finger. Salty sweet as always. She pulled out of him and he shivered at the loss. Amy shimmied out of the harness and kicked it into the corner. Cleaning that up could wait until morning.  
  
There was a reason Amy had brought wet wipes with her. She cleaned Steve off gently. He kept his arms around her waist. This come down was hard on him. He needed a little extra tenderness to help him through.  
  
Steve pulled her tighter against him. He closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling of her.  
  
Amy rolled onto his chest. “You enjoyed yourself?”  
  
“I did.” Steve ran his fingers through her hair. He’d enjoyed himself a lot. Something was missing though. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but it was. He buried his face in Amy’s hair. That helped. “We can do it again?”  
  
“Mmm.” Amy hummed sleepily. He was warm and she was floating in a pleasant state of contentment. All she wanted to do was sleep. The way he was playing with her hair wasn’t helping keep her awake either.  
  
Steve had more than enjoyed himself. His girl always blew his fantasies out of the water. A sudden thought occurred to him and he started laughing.  
  
“What?” Amy grumbled, trying to maintain her perch on his chest through the shaking.  
  
“Just thinking about what those stuffed shirts would say if they could see me now.” He said wrapping his arms around her back again.  
  
“Probably something homophobic.” Amy mumbled drifting off again. It had been an emotionally trying day, but her boy would be alright.  
  
*****  
  
“Aims?” Steve was laying on his back. Eyes open staring at the ceiling. Sleep wasn’t coming tonight. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Bucky leaning down to kiss him. Bucky biting his shoulder. Bucky kissing his knee the way Amy had. Bucky. Bucky. Bucky. That’s what was missing. He wanted Bucky too.  
  
Amy rolled onto her side so she could see him in the dark room. “Yeah sweetheart?”  
  
“I’m in love with Bucky.” He couldn’t look at her. She was amazing. She was perfect. How could he be in love with someone else? And what if Bucky didn’t love him back? What if he ruined three lives because he couldn’t just be satisfied with loving one person at a time?  
  
She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Maybe he wasn’t as alright as she had hoped. “I know.”  
  
“And Peggy.” It was like a lead weight in his stomach. This had to be a betrayal. Who and what he should be doing instead? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t let Amy go. He needed her in his life. She was there for him. Saw him. The real him not the myth. But something about what they were doing felt off. It had been such a good night. It couldn’t be wrong, could it?  
  
“I know.” The words were accompanied by another comforting squeeze. She didn’t care who else he loved. He loved her and she would do anything for him. Things might change in the future but right now that meant she was all his.  
  
Steve ran his hands through her hair. It was soothing, the silky feel between his fingers. He did love both of them, had loved them for a very long time. Loving Amy was newer, but no less intense. He couldn’t imagine life without her. Not anymore. He needed her beside him. “I also love you.”  
  
Amy sighed. Even she had to admit that life would be easier if he wasn’t. “I know that too.”  
  
“What are we going to do?” She deserved some sense of security. How could she plan for a future with that sword of damocles hanging over her head? How could they.  
  
Amy sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. That was the question wasn’t it. She had an answer. She hated that answer, but she didn’t see a way around it in the long term. Nothing had to happen right now though. They needed to find Bucky before they had to make any of those decisions. “I don’t know, but we’ll work it out.”


	19. The Book Is Only The Beginning

Steve sat back in his chair. Three solid days working dawn to dusk. Drawing, painting, writing. His fingers were ink stained. There was a crick in his neck. He could feel the stubble scratching at his cheeks. It wasn’t perfect but it was something.  
  
He hadn’t seen much of the girls during his work. They had been off training. Amy had stopped into her office to work a little, but most of her time had been spent out of the office and he suspected at least a little of it out in the field. He hadn’t asked. He should have. He was a bad boyfriend for invading her home and then ignoring her like this. He had spent more time with her cat the last few days than he had with her. Ōjo was a good writing companion. She at least was overjoyed that he had spent all day working, because she could spend all day purring in his lap.  
  
Not that Amy had told him he was working too much. His girl had been great about everything. Amy had brought him food. She had put up with crumpled drafts landing in the middle of her desk without warning. There hadn’t been a repeat of his first night, by the time she dragged him to bed at night he was exhausted, and his hands were cramped. His sweet girl would rub his hands until they relaxed and curled against his side to sleep.  
  
As if summoned by his thoughts Amy drifted into the room with a new cup of coffee for him. He smiled as she set the mug and his elbow and rubbed his back softly. Attentive as always. He really should have spent more time with her this week.  
  
Amy leaned over his shoulder to see the final project. Publishers would eat it up. His prose were simple and earnest. His illustrations beyond beautiful. Especially the fluffy little bear with his silver arm. “I like the new Bucky bear. It’s a nice touch.”  
  
“People keep saying he’s a cold-blooded killer. I wanted to remind them that he is more than that.” Steve ran his hands up her arms and pulled her tight against his back. There it was again. The Bucky of it all.  
  
Amy swung one leg up and stepped onto the seat of his chair. Carefully manoeuvring herself into his lap without breaking his hold on her. He was overthinking again. “It’s funny you know. I always thought of you were more of a bear than he is.”  
  
“I remind you of a bear?” Steve kissed her cheek.  
  
Amy nuzzled his ear. “My teddy bear when we’re here. A grizzly when you are in the field. That silly way you charge in.”  
  
“Your teddy bear?” He grinned. How could he worry about their future? She was his and he was hers. Together they could take on the world. They would find Bucky, rescue him from whatever it was that made him think he needed to keep killing. Then everything would work out. It had to work out.  
  
“_Mon Ours_.” Amy purred, pressing their foreheads together. Vanilla sex tonight. That was what he needed tonight. Simple uncomplicated affection. And lots of cuddling.  
  
*****  
  
He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. His back hurt. His neck hurt. His throat was on fire. None of his limbs were under his control. His chest was tightening. He could feel his muscles twitching but he couldn’t move them himself.  
  
An icy cold sensation broke through his panic. Followed by a soft sweet murmuring. Steve couldn’t make out the words. But he recognised that voice. He struggled towards wakefulness.  
  
Amy was holding his head. One hand resting on his chest, the other keeping up a soothing rhythm on his hair. Steve sighed. Everything was fine. He was fine. He couldn’t even get sick anymore.  
  
“Shhh, it’s alright baby. Just a bad dream. I’ve got you. Everything is alright.” Amy’s cool hand stroked his head gently. It had been a bad nightmare. She had to use her powers to break into this one. The only other times she had resorted to that he had been freshly back from a mission and caught by a bad PTSD flash back. Usually some form of falling. It was the most common theme in Steve’s dreams. Falling and ice.  
  
Steve tried to work his features into a reassuring smile, but he couldn’t quite make it stick.  
  
“Was it the ice?” She asked softly, shifting his head so it lay more comfortably in her lap. He had been shaking so much she was sure it was the memory of hypothermia. She worried about him. He always carried the world on his shoulders. Someone needed to take care of him if he wouldn’t.  
  
Steve shook his head and pressed into her. Grateful for how comfortingly solid she was. “No. I thought I had polio.”  
  
“You don’t have polio.” Amy took his hand and began massaging it. It had started when he had broken his ribs, and since her return, he had discovered that he loved her hand massages after a nightmare. Amy indulge him regularly when they were together. “Thank heavens you never had polio. Your children will never have polio. Your children will never even have measles.”  
  
Steve tangled his fingers with her and pulled her palm up so he could kiss it. She was right. Their children would be fine. They would have every advantage. They would never have to worry like he did. No matter what happened their children would be taken care of. “Yeah. But someone’s children will. And it is more than that. There are kids out there who are even sicker than I was and who’s families have an even harder time taking care of them than mine did. At least Ma was a nurse. She could do some of it on her own. And healthcare costs weren’t what they are now. It wasn’t cheap but we could usually afford my medication.”  
  
Her boy had a problem. They needed a solution, and it couldn’t come from her. “What do you want to do?”  
  
“I want to go knock some congressional heads together until they sort this shit out.” Steve growled hiding his face in her lap again. She smelled like flowers and smoke. And safety.  
  
Amy smiled at his exasperation. There was nothing that bothered Steve more than remembering the world was unjust, and nothing that energised him more than fighting to fix that injustice. “Yeah. But that would involve talking to Congress and you hate that.”  
  
Steve took a deep breath and thought. He needed to do something to help. He didn’t want to just lend his name to someone else’s project. He wanted to have a real voice. To be able to direct his efforts wherever he saw weakness in the system. “I think I need my own charity. To go with the book. I need to be able to decide where the money goes. Education and research, sure. But I want to help real kids and real families too. I might not be able to save all of them, but I can save a few.”  
  
Amy nodded. It was a good plan. Something they could start on right away and work out the fine details later. Which was good. Her man of action would be out punching insurance executive in the face if he didn’t see progress soon. “Okay, what is this new charity’s name?”  
“Fuck the medical industrial complex? FMIC for short.” Steve snorted. His chest had started to loosen. There was light on the horizon.  
  
Amy laughed back, curling down to kiss his forehead. “Love the passion. But maybe you should pick a name that the kids will actually be allowed to use.”  
  
He fell silent. Seconds ticked by as he thought seriously about the question. Names were important. If he wanted his charity to thrive it would need a good one. Something strong, but warm. Amy’s continued stroking of his forehead felt good. Familiar. Like when he had been young and sick. He had hated being sick. There was only one thing that had gotten him through his childhood. “I want to name it after my ma. I wouldn’t be able to help sick kids if she hadn’t gotten me through all my illnesses. How does the Sarah Rogers Memorial Foundation sound?”  
  
“It sounds perfect sweetheart.” Amy could feel a mistiness growing in her eyes. She wouldn’t embarrass herself by tearing up over something as small as Steve naming the charity after his mother. No matter how cute it was, or how much he deserved to have this work out they way he wanted it to. She would make sure it worked out. If she had to fund the entire thing herself, she would make sure it worked. This could be the thing she gave him that no one else could.  
  
Steve reached up and ran a thumb over her cheek. “Are you crying?”  
  
Amy sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Of course not. I’m a cold-hearted bitch. Ask anyone. There is no way the ice goddess would tear up over a little thing like this.”  
  
“I love you Aims.” Steve gazed at her fondly for a moment before the manic mood struck him again. “How fast do you think we can make this happen?”  
  
“Between the two of us I think we have enough strings we can pull that we can get something running by Thanksgiving.” Amy smiled and snuggled down next to him in the blankets. First thing in the morning they could both dive in. Refreshed and energised after a good night’s sleep in each other’s arms. He would go back to New York and start sending his manuscript to publishers, and she would start calling around about setting up a new charity, one with a good board and solid backing.  
  
*****  
  
Amy looked at the neatly folded pile of clothes. Steve and his perfectly creased slacks. She didn’t want either of them to leave. “Why don’t you leave them here?”  
  
“Hmm?” Steve looked up from the shirt he was folding.  
  
Amy shifted. She wanted to see him more, and she couldn’t take anymore time away from her work. This was the obvious solution. “Leave some clothes here. It will make it easier to pop over on weekends.”  
  
Steve laughed and stretched, getting to his feet. “I don’t get weekends.”  
  
“You know what I mean.” Amy mumbled stepping closer to him so she could hide her face in his chest.  
  
A huge smile broke across Steve’s face. She was blushing. _Amy_ was blushing. Amy embarrassed. It was like an eclipse. “Kitsui Ayame Winters, are you trying to give me a drawer at your place?”  
  
“Too modern for you?” Amy asked smoothing her hands over his shirt. He was going to say no. It was a ridiculous idea to begin with. She shouldn’t have asked. Gods she missed him when he went away though.  
  
It wasn’t exactly moving in together, but Steve couldn’t see them getting any closer in the foreseeable future. He kissed her softly. “Exactly the right amount of modern.”


	20. The Sarah Roger's Memorial Foundation

Apparently, the Captain America name had enough weight to fast track a charity application. The first week of November found Steve in a conference room overlooking Manhattan getting ready for the first board meeting of the Sarah Rogers Memorial Foundation.  
  
He was as nervous as a new father. He had checked the coffee and snacks in the corner at least four times. All of the unoccupied chairs were perfectly straight. He had even retied his tie. He couldn’t find anything else to do until the rest of the board arrived and had been reduced to pacing in front of the window.  
  
“Stop stressing.” Amy called from the far end of the table.  
  
Steve shot a look towards where she was sitting at the conference table. She hadn’t even looked up from her phone. “I’m not stressing.”  
  
Amy flicked her eyes up scanned him up and down sceptically. “Put your compass back in your pocket and stop stressing. Everything is going to be fine.”  
  
Steve looked down at his hand. He hadn’t even realised he was worrying the compass between his fingers, its little fox charm dancing at the end of its cord. Amy was right. He was stressed. This was important. He wanted it to go well. He tucked the compass back into his suite jacket's pocket.  
  
There were so many things that could go wrong today. “What if…”  
  
“It will be fine _Mon Ours_.” Amy cut him off without looking up again. He had been fretting since she had arrived last night. He wouldn’t be able to relax until they got through today.  
  
Luckily for Steve’s mental state and the conference room's carpet, the first board members started to arrive. Leading the pack was Pepper. Amy was not surprised that Pepper was one of the first people here. It was a short commute from her office, three floors above them. Amy said a silent prayer of thanks for the new offices in Avengers Tower. They were convenient, and Stark Industries gave them a substantial discount on rent, so Steve didn’t freak out at the expense.  
  
“Thank you so much for inviting me to be on this board.” Pepper gushed kissing Amy on both cheeks.  
  
“And for not asking you to be the president?” Amy teased motioning for Pepper to take the seat next to hers. Pepper joining the board had been one of her better ideas. She lent legitimacy and a sense of stability to the new organisation.  
  
“That too.” Pepper laughed, settling in the chair like a throne. “I have enough plates in the air with Stark Industries and all of Tony’s new brilliant ideas. It will be nice to only have to show up and vote.”  
  
Amy leaned back in her chair and rolled her pen around her fingers. “I have to agree. I would much rather find someone with enough time and relevant experience to actually run an organisation properly rather than try and juggle it with all my other responsibilities.”  
  
“Not that she did. Find someone with enough time that is.” The brunette who had just entered the room chimed in, claiming the seat at the head of the table.  
  
“I told you to quit your job and do this full time. You claimed the hospital couldn’t function without you.” Amy smiled at Doctor Palmer. She had been the perfect choice for this. Sugar, spice, and everything nice. She adored children. Amy would be thanking her sister in law for years for introducing her to her med school classmate. And if it tweaked Strange’s tale at the same time Amy was not about to complain.  
  
“It can’t. Who will run the ER if I leave?” Doctor Palmer said evasively. Ayame _had_ told her that she should quite her job at the hospital and just work for the charity. There had been a promise of research dollars and autonomy. She would miss the patients too much.  
  
Amy crossed her ankles and leaned back in her chair. It was a debate they had had a few times over the last couple months. “Off the top of my head? Marcus.”  
  
The doctor shrugged. “I suppose he could but….”  
  
Amy waved away the explanation. The argument always ended the same way. She loved being with the patients. Amy wouldn’t try and take that away from her. “If I didn’t think you could do both, I would have withdrawn the offer.”  
  
“You know this is my charity. I have some say in the matter.” Steve settled into his seat opposite the doctor. Amy on his left. “Nice to meet you in person Doctor Palmer.”  
  
The rest of the board had arrived while the women were bantering. They were a surprise to Steve. He had let Amy vet the board members while he focused on the strategic plan. There were two more doctors. A trio of socialites that seemed to know both Pepper and Amy. And a white-haired reporter that Steve recognised as having covered both the _Chitauri_ in New York and Hydra in Washington.  
  
The last four chairs were filled by the charities full-time employees. Those Steve had interviewed. They were all incredibly bright. Most of them had more than one degree and HD finished at the top of their classes. Steve still wasn’t entirely sure how Amy had convinced the to work for the salary he could offer when they were sure to have more lucrative options, but they were here, and they seemed happy so far.  
  
The meeting was a rousing success. Amy was especially pleased by the paid staff. Her investment had been more than worth it. Pay off some student loans, give the bright young things a chance to save the world and they would not disappoint. She would have to see what they could do about Christmas bonuses.  
  
*****  
  
Steve couldn’t stop smiling as the meeting broke up. This was going to work. He'd done it. They’d done it. The charity was up and running. Amy had used all her museum talents to solicit enough donations that their financials were more than healthy. The board and staff all had great chemistry. Their first major campaign, the book, would launch early in the next year.  
  
Steve set his hand on the small of Amy’s back. He was still full of pent up energy. He didn’t think he could just sit inside for the rest of the day. “It’s a nice day. Why don’t we talk a walk, maybe find some dinner? Care to join us Ms. Potts?”  
  
Pepper laughed and slapped him playfully on the arm. She didn’t think she had seen him this happy in all the years she had known him. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Pepper?”  
  
Steve’s grin only got wider. He had missed Pepper since the move. She was always a delight… When Tony wasn’t doing something crazy. “I wouldn’t dare. I’m far to intimidated by your competence.”  
  
Pepper preened at the compliment. People call her pretty and sometimes smart. But her versatile competence was what she was proud of. She liked to think she could hold her own in pretty much any situation. People didn’t realise how valuable that was. “I like him.”  
  
Amy smiled and leaned against Steve’s side. Her boy was happy, and his plan looked like it was going to be a success. It was a good day. “He is pretty great.”  
  
“I appreciate the offer Captain Rogers, but I have a dinner meeting with the electric car people.” Pepper gave them both a quick peck on the cheek goodbye and dashed off to the elevator.  
  
Steve grinned after her and pulled Amy closer as they meandered to the elevator. Dinner with Pepper would have been fun, but he didn’t mind having Amy to himself.  
  
“What do you want for dinner?” Steve asked as the emerged from the tower lobby. Amy had her hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. He could feel her hand through the leather of his jacket and the way the hem of her knee length wool coat brushed against his thigh as they walked together. It felt good to be stepping out with her.  
  
The last time he had taken her out for dinner had been before they had officially started dating. She had been less camera shy the last few months and he wondered if it had anything to do with Jun'ichi’s death or if she was just feeling more confident in their relationship.  
  
Probably a combination of the two he decided, she wasn’t worried about what people would think if they were seen together. Maybe they should think about how to announce their relationship. That was a thing famous people did, wasn’t it? Well there wasn’t any rush. They could figure it out later. Tonight, he just wanted to eat good food and then fall asleep holding her.  
  
“I want….” Amy trailed off, something catching her eye from the far side of the street. She half turned to get a better look. Darn. They were being watched, and it didn’t look like paparazzi.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Steve asked concerned. She had just trailed off and her hand had tightened on his arm. Something was worrying her. And if it was worrying Amy on the street it couldn’t be good news.  
  
“Nothing we can’t handle.” Amy smiled up at him. Tipping her head to grab another look at their shadows. Definitely Russian. It was possible that the Yakuza had outsourced their dirty work and they were here because of her. They might be counting on a different MO throwing her off balance. It might if she was anyone else.  
  
Or they were Hydra and they were here because Steve and Nat were easier to find than the Winter Soldier. Amy smothered a growl and pulled Steve farther down the street. Regardless of who they were this was not the place for a confrontation.  
  
Steve started to twist to see what was irritating her. Amy squeezed his arm. Sweet boy. Nat's rants were all right. He was terrible at subtlety. “Don’t look around. Just walk with me.” She flicked her eyes up at him. “And try not to look like you’re walking into battle. You'll scare people.” The last thing they needed was to start a panic.  
  
Two blocks east and she turned them left. Partly to get them closer to her goal. Partly to see if she could get another look at the men following them. At least three. And was that? Yes, that was definitely the general’s right-hand man. Hydra had figured out who was responsible for London then. Unfortunate. Goons sent by the Yakuza would have been some much easier to deal with.  
  
Amy fished her phone out of her pocket. She needed to call Nat. “Hello darling. You know that friend from Georgia we were trying to get a hold of? Well you'll never guess who I just spotted in Manhattan.... My thoughts exactly. Why don’t you grab that present we were planning to give him and come meet us? I’m sure Steve would love an introduction.”  
  
Steve listened to her phone call with a growing sense of unease. Something was very wrong, and he was beginning to think his evening was going to end in a fight rather than a late dessert on the waterfront. “Going to tell me what is going on now?”  
  
“We are going to take a nice little walk and kill some time.” Amy said adjusting her grip on his arm and tugging him around another corner. It wasn’t exactly a situation she could explain out in the open like this. He would just have to wait until the got somewhere secure and she dealt with the problem. Thankfully the Yakuza had a warehouse on the water that they used for conversations they didn’t want interrupted. Given the state they were in right now it should be abandoned. She was sure they wouldn’t mind is she borrowed it.


	21. A Surprising Number Of Amy's Dates End This Way

The warehouse looked like it was about to fall down. Steve had thought places like this had mostly disappeared in the century. What little light made it through the grimy windows was filled with dust motes. Empty cable spools were stacked along one wall. The floor was reasonably clean, someone had washed and swept it recently. They hadn’t gotten all the blood of the concrete by the pillars  
  
Amy stepped out of her heels and carefully set them out of the way. Her jacket followed them, folded into a neat square and balanced onto of the shoes. Nat would be here soon. Hopefully she would bring Amy a better weapon than the palm sized dagger she had at hand. She wondered if there was a weapons cash here. It was unlikely and she didn’t have time to search for it anyway. “Keep your head down. This shouldn’t take long.”  
  
Steve looked at her. She was stretching out her shoulders like she was preparing for a fight. She was planning to go into battle. And from the sound of it she thought she was going in alone.  
  
“Damn it Amy! I don’t care who we are fighting. You are crazy if you think I’m letting you mix it up with-“ Steve peeked out the window by his head before ducking back out of sight. A crowd was forming up in the alley. He hadn’t gotten a good look at any of their hands, but he didn’t think any of them were carrying bouquets or pies. “Eight guys, on your own.”  
  
Eight. Well that was more than was ideal. Not more than she could handle, but not ideal. She flipped her knife into her hand. What she really wanted was for Steve to huddle out of the line of fire or even make a break for it out the back of the warehouse. If that wasn’t going to happen and given the stormy look in his eyes it wasn’t, she needed to at least stop him from doing anything stupidly dangerous.  
  
“Amy.” Steve said sternly. She couldn’t keep avoiding this. He wasn’t abandoning her. He was involved one way or another. Either he went in with information or he went in blind.  
  
“I’m thinking.” Amy hissed. She was also running out of time to come up with a plan. “Okay. Here’s the situation. In about thirty seconds a team of former Russian special forces is going to come through that door. I’m not sure which of us they are after, but it is a safe bet they don’t really need either of us in good shape, so I’m not sure it matters. On our end I don’t really care if any of them make it out or not. Except the older man with the dagger tattoo on his neck. He has to die. He can’t escape. I don’t intend to take him prisoner. I'll explain why later. Nat is on her way, so we have back up.”  
  
“Okay. We can handle that.” Steve nodded sharply. That wasn’t so bad. He tried to look on the bright side. Eight against to two of them. They would barely work up a sweat. Especially once Nat turned up. Or at least that’s what he was telling himself.  
  
Amy threw herself at him and hugged him hard. She hadn’t been in combat with Steve since the incident in Korea. She didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him. “Don’t get hurt, okay?”  
  
“Same goes for you baby girl.” Steve gave her one last squeeze and let her slink into her position on the other side of the door.  
  
Three breaths. That was how many Steve counted before the door between them crashed open and a hail of blue light balls struck the far wall.  
  
All eight of them thundered into the warehouse. They scanned the main space for their targets. Steve was glad to find that he couldn’t spot Amy even though he had known where she was a moment ago. He wasn’t as well hidden though. They found him as soon as their scan reached the wall by the door. It should have been the first place they looked. Steve would have them on discipline duty if they were his men. They also didn’t know what to do when they found him. They all froze staring at a cornered Captain America.  
  
He was fine with that. He wasn’t as cornered as they thought he was. And if they were watching him, they weren’t looking out for Amy. On the other hand, he was standing in the open with eight teseract powered weapons trained on him.  
  
Distraction time. He grabbed the front most commando and hurled him into his companions. Three others went down in a pile but the rear two weren’t thrown off and opened fire again.  
  
Steve ducked behind the first pillar he came to. Four in a pile on the ground. two firing on him. He was missing two. A he glanced out from his cover. Four on the ground. One unconscious. Two struggling to get out from under him. One with a broken leg. Two more bleeding out, one from a slashed throat, the other from a gut wound.  
  
Good, his girl was holding her own. Less good, a second wave had just entered the room. Six more soldiers surrounding an older man wearing loafers. An older man with a dagger tattoo on his neck.  
  
The general surveyed the room from behind the safety of his personal bodyguard. It didn’t take him long to spot Steve behind his minimal cover. With a smile he stepped forward. He either thought Amy had left out the back or wasn’t worried about her. Steve wondered how the man had become powerful enough to have a kill squad this large without learning that the women were frequently the real threat. Not that he was going to complain. While the attention was on him Amy silently snapped the neck of one of the rear guards and disappeared again before she was spotted. “Surrender Captain. We know what you are trying to do. There is no way you and your little pet can succeed.”  
  
“I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.” Steve panted, pressing his back against the pillar he was hiding behind. The guard fired another volley which bit into the wood and made Steve flinch. He wouldn’t lie. This was not ideal.  
  
Amy gritted her teeth. She should have known eight was too good to be true. And was the general wearing loafers? She was the third deadliest assassin in the world and Steve was the perfect soldier. They deserved lace up shoes at least. Loafers were just disrespectful. She slipped slowly out of cover. There was no way she was going to let anyone in this bastard's entourage get away now. She had a reputation to maintain.  
  
“Give us the Winter Soldier and we’ll let you go.” The general shouted at Steve.  
  
“I don’t have him.” Steve called back. The Winter Soldier. That’s what all this was about. They were trying to recapture Bucky. He fought down the film of red that was trying to obscure his vision. He had to fight smart not hard. If he got them killed or let the general get away it only left Bucky in more danger.  
  
“Then what good are you?” The general replied dryly.  
  
The hail of gun fire that followed was enough to drive him away from the pillar. Steve wished he had his shield. Hydra energy blasts were a pain to dodge. He plunged towards the soldiers anyway. Hesitation was what got people killed in these situations. He got in close enough to grab one of the soldiers and haul him in front of him as a shield.  
  
Amy continued to pick at the edges of the formation. Her seemingly random assaults had the soldiers on edge throwing of their aim so they couldn’t get a clean shot off on Steve. She had to keep them distracted and on edge. He was in a rage now. He wouldn’t be looking out for himself.  
  
Seeing the way the tide was turning, the general made a break for the exit. Steve threw the man he was fighting into his path and stormed towards the door. He was after Bucky. No wonder Amy didn’t want him to get away. He had his back to the rest of the fight. His girl would have to have his six. He had his eyes on the prize.  
  
Steve made it to the door first. Using his bulk to block the exit.  
  
The general’s right-hand man levelled his blaster at Steve. Pinned down in the doorway there was no way Steve would be able to get out of the way in time. Amy broke with her opponent, a shot barely missing her in the process. She tackled the general’s right hand, grabbed the back of his neck. Sparks flowed from her palm into his skin. His jaw went slack and he dropped his gun.  
  
Amy kicked the gun towards Steve. Wrapped her arm around her nearly catatonic hostage’s neck and twisted hard.  
  
The blaster bumped against Steve’s boot. He flicked it into the air and fired two shots. They both struck the general in the chest.  
  
Amy cursed how long this was taking. Nat should be here by now. She dosed another target with a dose of her powers. His eyes narrowed in rage. He fired on his own team four times before their return fire took him out. Amy discarded his body and launched herself at the soldiers attacking Steve.  
  
Natasha dropped through the skylight, firing at the remaining enemies. Amy back peddled out of the way.  
  
Nat's volley ended with all but one of the men down. The last one had taken a round to the shoulder but was still standing. Amy flicked her wrist and her dagger buried itself hilt deep in his neck. He gurgled and slumped to the ground.  
  
Natasha rappelled the rest of the way down and unhooked her harness. There were a handful of injured Hydra soldiers whimpering on the floor. She stepped carefully over one of them. “You looked like you needed a hand.”  
  
“Took you long enough.” Amy grumbled retrieving her knife.  
  
“Yeah, yeah. I’m not the one getting into trouble at five on a Tuesday. The florist was closing.” Nat sung her bag onto the floor. “Help me move him.”  
  
Amy grabbed the general’s feet while Nat took his shoulders and manoeuvred him into the centre of the room where the light was better. Together they laid him out. Natasha taking a little extra time to step on his hands. He might be dead, but the crunch was still satisfying. She had no more love for this man than her _Otets_ did.  
  
Steve looked around at the carnage. “Now do I get to know what is going on?”  
  
Nat looked up from where she was arranging the bouquet on general’s chest and found Amy's eyes. They had to tell him something. Steve wasn’t an idiot. He had to know that something was going on now. This was clearly part of a larger campaign on Nat and Amy’s part. He was going to have so many questions.  
  
Amy shrugged and motioned for Nat to start the story. She would explain it better and if Steve had questions later, she would probably be the one to answer them.  
  
“Your Bucky’s hunting important Hydra members. We are….” Natasha trailed off trying to settle on the right word. The way assassins made friends wasn’t really something she wanted to explain to Steve.  
  
“Helping?” Amy suggested.  
  
“Helping without being asked.” Nat hedge. “We’re hoping that if knows we’re on his side he’ll come to us. Either when he’s done or for help on trickier targets.”  
  
Steve stared at them. Assassins. Why were all the people in his life assassins? No one else would come up with a murder-based plan. No one else would think it was a good idea. But his girls did. Nat made sense. She said Bucky was the closest thing she had to a father. Why wouldn’t she do everything she could to help him.  
  
Amy though. Amy didn’t have any real ties to Bucky. She was doing this for him. She was putting herself in harms way on the off chance she could bring Bucky back for him. He reached out and wiped a smudge off her cheek. “Sweetheart…”  
  
Amy kissed his wrist as it brushed by. “You’d do it for me.”  
  
He pulled her in against him. He would. If someone she loved needed saving, he would do everything in his power to get them back for her. This was a lot though. And it looked and sounded like it was just the tip of the iceberg. “I have follow up questions. For now though…”  
  
Steve took another look at the mess around them. Intentions were one thing. Results were another. They couldn’t let some poor beat cop stumble on this. This scene unexplained would cause a media frenzy. “We should call the police.”  
  
Nat flicked her eyes to the central corpse. Her _Otets_ needed to know that this wasn’t a coincidence. “They’ll question the flowers.”  
  
“I’ll make sure they keep them in the photos.” Steve said firmly. What good was being Captain America if he couldn’t occasionally abuse the position to help a friend. This could work. If Bucky knew he had people on his side, he was more likely to be willing to come back to the world. Nat and Amy were on the right, if violent, path. They would talk about this more later, and he would expect to be kept in the loop from now on. But Steve wouldn’t interfere. They had their methods and Steve had his.


	22. Some Mornings Are better Than Others

The sound of Amy being sick in the bathroom jolted Steve out of his sleep. He rolled over to check the time. Six thirty. They had gotten back to the compound late, sometime after two in the morning. He wasn’t surprised that he had slept in. He was surprised that Amy was awake. Awake and sick.  
  
Steve padded into the bathroom. Amy was kneeling in front of the toilet, her head pressed into the cool porcelain. She looked terrible. Clammy, dark circles under her eyes, hair sticking to her forehead in damp ribbons. Her hair looked dull, less raven more charcoal.  
  
“You alright sweetheart?” He asked softly, wringing out a washcloth.  
  
“Mmm. I feel awful.” Amy accepted the cloth and wiped her face. “This is why I don’t like using my powers. I get sick every time.”  
  
“Every time?” Steve slid his back down the wall next to her. No wonder she didn’t like using her powers. He remembered her offering him ginger tonic in Japan.  
  
“It isn’t always this bad.” She reassured him crawling into his lap. Most of the time it was just a little queasiness. This was a particularly bad reaction. Reactions this bad only happened when over extended or didn’t regulate properly. She had been having trouble regulating since she turned her collar, everything flowed faster. Really, she should practice with her powers more to find her balance. She hated feeling sick though.  
  
Usually she lost half a day after she did this to herself. She hated being around people when she was like this. Dai knew enough to set her up with a blanket and a bottle of ginger tonic and leave her alone until she was ready for company again. Steve was different. She wanted to be as close to him as possible.  
  
Steve kissed her hair and rubbed her back. His poor girl. They would take it easy today. He would hide her away in his art studio, stop everyone from bothering her. He made a mental note to email everyone and tell them he was busy, and to check the kitchen for ginger tea. Right now though, he was content to just hold Amy and rock her soothingly.  
  
*****  
  
Steve loved drawing Ayame. He especially enjoyed when she would sit and let him do life drawings. Steve had a vague plan to do a series of paintings of the people he loved and their preferred weapons. He wanted them all to have their own painting but for all to appear to be the same room.  
  
Peggy was the easiest. With her amazing curves she was perfectly built for lounging like a classical Venus. He had already sketched up a series of studies of her on a couch with her favourite pistol. When she had seen them, Natasha had made a joke about trading the gun for a stapler. Steve disapproved of the sentiment, just because Peggy had ended her career with a desk job didn’t mean that she was every bit the fighter Amy or Bucky was.  
  
Amy had a number of options. He wanted her sitting so he thought sword rather than naginata. The pose was more open ended. He had played with her sitting on the floor in the elegant kneel she favoured in Japan. It wasn’t as dynamic as he wanted. They had moved on to draping her over an armchair in various boneless positions. That was where he had her this afternoon. Half upside down with one leg thrown over the back. Her sword held loosely just above the floor. She had been in that position in just leggings and a sports bra for almost two hours without ever complaining about the strain on her abs or the cold.  
  
Bucky was giving him more trouble. He couldn’t seem to find a pose that Bucky looked comfortable in. The closest he had come was Bucky leaning back in his chair legs spread wide. His eyes kept coming out as lonely. Steve was determined to keep trying until it worked. He was also determined to ignore how much like a metaphor for his search for Bucky the process was.  
  
“Hey Mameha. You do fashion, right?” Tony burst into the studio without knocking. Amy remained in her contorted position, the hand on her sword tightening involuntarily.  
  
Steve frowned at Tony’s intrusion. Everyone knew that they were working on his art today. What if Amy had been naked. She wasn’t, but still, his girl hadn’t been feeling well, this was supposed to be their escape not an open house. He grabbed a sweater off his chair and started towards her. What was Tony even doing here? Shouldn’t he be off doing whatever it was he did now that he was largely retired?  
  
Amy didn’t even blink at the ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ reference as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She was getting used to Tony’s increasingly ridiculous nicknames. It was easier to just respond to anything he said in your general direction and question his word association later. “I have someone who does it for me.”  
  
“So, can the person who does it for you get me into the Tiffanies private room? I want to get Pep something fun for Christmas.” Tony wandered around the room peaking at the sketches Steve had been working on, picking up and putting down pencils and pads of paper.  
  
Amy shrugged on the sweater Steve handed her. “I would have thought they’d just let you in. It isn’t like you can’t afford anything they offer.”  
  
Tony cleared his throat embarrassed. “I kind of had an accident there a couple years ago.”  
  
“Oh my gods, _you’re_ the jerk who smashed the Diola case?” Amy exclaimed, leaning back in the armchair. She was already texting someone, her phone having materialised out of thin air as far as Steve could see. He hadn’t seen her slip it into sweater or the chair cushions and it couldn’t have been in the leggings.  
  
Tony help up his hands in a gesture of innocence. “In my defence, I was left unsupervised.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes and returned her to her phone. Tiffany’s was easy. The new message from her team required more attention. “You’re in tomorrow at two. You’ll have to go without me though. I need to get back.”  
  
Steve frowned at her. He had thought she was staying until at least next week.  
  
She shrugged. They could talk about it in private. “Some work came up. I’ll leave tonight.” She turned her attention to Tony. “These people are my friends. Be on your best behaviour.”  
  
“So am I. I make no promises.” Tony fluffed her hair and wandered out of the room with the same manic preoccupation he had come on with.  
  
Steve turned back to the easel and the large pad of paper. He didn’t want her to leave. He was supposed to have her for the whole week. “When did this work come up?”  
  
Amy held up the phone in explanation as she moved towards him. She could see the tenseness in his shoulders. He felt abandoned already. “Just now. My team finally got a lead on when and where to find someone we need to have a little conversation with.”  
  
She wrapped herself around him and tipped her head to the side to inspect his work. Love was evident in every line. She nuzzled his neck softly. She adored him and would never willingly abandon him. He should know that. He should also remember that there were other people in his life who loved him. People who weren’t missing or dying, who could be with him when she couldn’t. “You should do all of us. Not just Peggy and Bucky and me. But Nat and Sam and the others too. Your entire chosen family.”  
  
Steve relaxed a little as she nuzzled and kneaded at his muscles. There was something inherently comforting about having her wrapped around his shoulders. “You think so?”  
  
“I do. Your work is beautiful _Mon Ours._”  
  
She left before dinner. Picked up by an unmarked helicopter.


	23. Perfect Presents

“What am I doing here again?” Steve asked perching precariously on the edge of a white couch. Everything here was too clean and too delicate for someone of his size and upbringing. Every time he moved, he was convinced that he was going to smudge or crush something worth more than his motorcycle. Three and a half years and he still wasn’t used to this sort of thing. Unlike Tony who looked all too comfortable on the spindly white couch.  
  
“Keeping me on my best behaviour.” Tony said, the coffee in his hand tipping enough to make Steve’s heartbeat faster.  
  
Steve wandered away from Tony’s couch. All the modern industrial pieces were starting to look the same to him. They lacked a certain grace that vintage jewellery had in his mind.  
  
There was a display of photos along the wall behind the design table. Steve walked over to it curiously, a familiar face off to one side had caught his attention. Fredrick beamed out of the photo an arm around another man. The same man was represented in several other pictures, Steve guessed that he was one of the in-house designers. It was a background figure in Fredrick’s photo that had really drawn him. She was looking away from the camera, but Steve would recognise Amy's profile anywhere. Sharp, fierce, and wearing what had to be several thousand dollars worth of diamonds around her throat.  
  
She didn’t look out of place, settled on one of the low couches by the window. Effortless grace in every situation. That was what he needed to capture in his painting. None of the other photos held anyone of interest to him, although he spotted several celebrities he recognised and at least two first ladies.  
  
He drifted off to continue his circuit of the room. The other walls held display cases, usually accompanied by design sketches or historic photos of the pieces they contained.  
  
His eyes fell on a case full flowers carved from precious and semi-precious stones. Tucked in the corner of the case was a dark purple iris, set with a silver loop so it could be worn as a pendant. It was the exact colour of Amy’s eyes.  
  
One of the attendants materialised at his side. “Was there a piece you were interested in sir?”  
  
He didn’t ask how she knew that he was interested in something. He was starting to understand that at a certain level of luxury people just anticipated your needs the way he anticipated his opponents next move in a fight. It was why Tony never picked up behind himself and Amy never thought about where the food she ate came from. “That purple one. What is it?”  
  
“An excellent choice sir. That is a Bontè, carved from jade in a particularly lovely shade of violet. Very elegant, very rare.” The beaming attendant popped open the back of the case.  
  
Steve winced. He recognised that name, he had sketched Elizabeth Bontè jewellery at the Met. It was perfect for Amy. He had money now. She was worth it. But still… “I don’t want to know how much it is do I?”  
  
“It’s not a question I recommend asking sir.” The attendant replied already removing the jewel. "Can I show you some other pieces I think you might like?"  
  
"You can, but that one is going to be hard to top." Steve laughed. He could already picture how good it would look against Amy's creamy skin and how it would make her eyes glow.  
  
The attendant smiled and gestured towards the next case, filled with glittering rings and bracelets. "We aim to always exceed expectations sir."  
  
*****  
  
The little blue box was burning a hole in his pocket. He should have left it in his bag. Really, he should have left it in New York, but their schedules were so crazy he had no idea if he’d be able to see her again between now and Christmas. He had needed this long weekend. Needed time with his girl before the craziness of December really hit.  
  
The Christmas season was ridiculous. It was so hectic and full of people who wanted things from he pretending to know him better than they did. He had managed to carve out time to visit several children’s hospitals and a whole day to spend with Peggy. But neither of those things relaxed him the way being around Amy did. Even just sitting in her office working was wonderful. He wished he could bottle this feeling and take it home with him.  
  
He wished he could take _her_ home with him. Wake up next to her Christmas morning. Spend the day sitting watching snow fall outside the window. See the way her face lit up when she opened her present.  
  
Her present. The extravagantly expensive present he had bought without talking to her. He cleared his throat. “I didn’t ask. Are we doing Christmas presents this year?”  
  
Amy looked up from the email she was studying. “I hope so. Otherwise I bought a brownstone in Brooklyn and turned it into a home for sick children out of the goodness of my heart. I don’t think my reputation can handle that.”  
  
Amy ignored his shocked look as she rummaged through her inbox for the file. The lawyers had couriered it over two days ago. A few signatures from either the charity head or the board president and it would belong to the Sarah Rogers Foundation.  
  
“You bought me a house?” It was too much money. He knew how much an apartment in Brooklyn cost though. A house would be way to expensive, even knowing the cost of the bauble in his pocket.  
  
“No, you’d never accept it for yourself.” Amy said slowly. She would have. Maybe not in Brooklyn, there were some nice places in Westchester that wouldn’t leave him with too much of a commute to either the tower or the compound. But her boy was proud and if she told him she had dropped two or three million dollars on a house he would go all great depression on her and refuse to accept it. Thankfully he had no idea how much she had spent on the clothes she had bought for him. He was proud and Stubborn, but he was also very pragmatic. “I bought your charity a house. It is for the children.”  
  
Steve laughed. She had him there. Money spent on the kids was different. How could he turn down something that he knew would do so much good? “Well you’ve completely ruined the surprise.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes in mock frustration. “It’s like you don’t want the kids to be able to move in in January.”  
  
“Do you want your present early too?” Steve asked shifting around to lean against the edge of her desk. He didn’t feel bad about spoiling her if she was going to spoil him back. She looked so pleased with herself. She would love her present. He couldn’t wait to see her face.  
  
“Is it you?” She teased pulling him close by his belt loops. Did he even know what those flirty eyes did to her? Why didn’t her office door lock? Was he done work for the day? She could take a break if he wanted to carry her off and ravage her.  
  
“Something a little more fun to unwrap.” He laughed fumbling in his pocket.  
  
Amy made a noise of disagreement. Unwrapping Steve was very fun.  
  
Before she could vocalise her opinion, he produced the little blue box. Amy heart flipped. The box was too big for it to be a ring. She didn’t know what she would do if it was a ring. Have a panic attack probably.  
  
It wasn’t the right size though. It had to be something else. She managed to smile as she took the box out of his hand. She could feel excitement radiating from him as she slipped off the bow.  
  
“Oh Steve.” Any gasped and looked up at his grinning face. It wasn’t a ring. It was the most amazing piece of carved jade she had ever seen.  
  
Steve plucked the chain out of the velvet and stepped behind her. He fastened the delicate clasp, letting the sparkling chain settle against her creamy skin. “You like it?” He purred the question into the back of her neck.  
  
“It’s perfect.” Amy trailed her fingers over the cool purple stone. It almost glowed in the afternoon light. An iris the colour of her eyes. She couldn’t have found something more suited to her is she had tried. He loved her. Steve Rogers loved her. Issues and all.  
  
Steve staggered at the force of Amy’s tackle. She hung from him, feet completely off the ground, face pressed into his neck. He had hoped she would like it. He hadn’t thought she would like it this much. Carefully he wrapped his arm around her and took some of her weight. He turned his head so he could whisper into her hair. “Love you, baby girl.”


	24. The Kind Of Rescue Steve Needs

Tony had insisted that they needed to throw a Christmas party. And because he was Tony, it had turned into a massive formal affair with half the country invited. Steve was dreading it. He would have to deal with everyone from his brown-nosing publisher to irritable generals who were still mad that he wasn’t falling back into the neat military rank and file. He should be getting ready. There was a tuxedo hanging on the door of the wardrobe for him. The fabric was scratchy, he was not looking forward to putting it on. Instead he was sitting glaring at the offending garment wondering if anyone would believe him if he said he had twisted his ankle and he couldn’t go tonight.  
  
A knock at Steve’s bedroom door brought him out of his contemplation. He grumbled all the way across the room. He didn’t want to see anyone. He wanted to find some reason to duck out of a night of schmoozing, preferably a reason that took him to Asia with enough spare time to see Amy. Time to relax, to soak in the hot springs with her tucked under his arm. Or to take her on one of those ridiculous runs along the rope paths that ended with them tangled together somewhere with a beautiful view.  
  
Opening the door, he was sure that he was still daydreaming. Amy stood there, her suitcase beside her and two garment bags thrown over an arm. Chin length hair the blue black of fresh dye. “A little bird told me that you needed a date for tonight’s gala.”  
  
He didn’t question who had told her. Or how she had found the time to leave her work. Just tangled his finger in her raven hair and pulled her in for a kiss.  
  
*****  
  
Making out in the doorway didn’t last long. Vision drifted around the corner into the hallway. Not wanting an audience, they tumbled through the door giggling.  
  
Steve pressed their foreheads together. “I’m glad you’re here.”  
  
“Me too.” Amy bumped her nose against his. “What’s the plan, _Taii_?”  
  
Steve grinned at the Japanese endearment. She so rarely used her first language around him. He had no idea what it meant but loved the way the syllables sounded on her tongue. “You tell me sweetheart. You seem more prepared than me.” He nodded at the garment bags she had dropped in the hurry to close the door.  
  
Amy laughed and picked the bags back up. “This is Fredrick having a plan. He thought you might not have anything you wanted to wear.” She tossed the bags neatly into the foot of the bed and returned her hands to his chest. “Tell me about tonight. Nat sent me a time, a level of formality, and the words 'he could use a geisha'.”  
  
Steve pulled at the bow closing Amy’s wrapped shirt closed. He wanted to have his on as much of her as possible while he still had her to himself. The fabric fell open readily. “Tony invited most of the big players from the government and the private sector. Everyone we need to impress to keep running” He slipped the shirt off her shoulder and chased its path with his lips. “Its cocktails and passed appetizers, so we don’t have to worry about seating.” The shirt fell down around her elbows and he folded his hands around her slim waist, mouth wandering over the soft skin of her neck and upper arms. “The team is meeting in the entrance hall in an hour.”  
  
He wondered how low cut the dress she had brought was. If he left a mark would anyone know? Did he care? She was his. His brilliant girl. “I’ll have to be careful not to make all the other men jealous with the most beautiful girl in the room as my date.”  
  
“Flirt.” She leaned into his kisses. “I should start getting read if we have to be down there in an hour.”  
  
He sighed and loosened his grip on her hips. “If you have to.”  
  
She kissed his cheek. “I do.” With that she snagged her garment bag off the bed.  
  
“What is the goal for tonight?” Amy called from behind the bathroom door. Nat wouldn’t have called her in to play geisha for a standard company Christmas party.  
  
Steve sighed and pushed his hair back. “Build trust. We need to get the politicians on our side. Which won’t be easy since they are partisan hacks who want to keep me on a leash. Then there are the generals...”  
  
“I know the kind. I’m sure we can handle them.” Amy voice was muffled by the sound of small hard objects clattering on the counter. He grinned at the door. Of course, she could handle them. She could handle anything. His beautiful, competent girl. Here to save his bacon.  
  
Steve unzipped the garment bag. Inside was a royal blue tuxedo with black satin lapels. “Isn’t this a little flashy?”  
  
“I promise Tony’s will be flashier.” Amy stepped out of the bathroom to see what exactly her was looking at. The site of her half-dressed eased his nerves even more. She was gorgeous. From her knife sharp eyeliner to her ruler straight seemed stockings. And those blood red lips would look so good wrapped around his- Steve tore himself away from that thought. Anything like that would have to wait until after the party.  
  
She tipped her head to the side to put in a sliver grey pearl earring. She hadn’t seen what Frederick had packed for Steve. It was brighter than she would have picked. If Frederick thought it would work on him, she was sure it would. For that matter it was about the same colour as his original costume, a clever trick to inspire trust and remind people that he was an institution all his own. She would have to compliment Frederick when she saw him. Steve didn’t look thrilled about it though. “Is it the blue or the satin lapel?”  
  
He fingered the cuff of the jacket. The fabric was soft which was promising. “Both. I thought men stuck to wearing black, grey, or navy these days?”  
Amy straightened his shirt studs. It was his eyes she realised. Frederick had picked this suit to go with his eyes. They would practically glow surrounded by all that blue. “Boring men sure. That blue isn’t particularly flamboyant, you’ll only stand out a little.”  
  
Steve sighed and started tying the black velvet bow tie Fredrick had provided. “I’m still not used to being the centre of attention. I miss hiding behind a uniform.”  
  
Amy kissed his cheek “Be brave _Mon Ours_. You’ll get through it.”  
  
“With you on my arm I will.” He called after her as she ducked back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.  
  
Five minutes before they had to leave, Amy finally emerged from the bathroom again.  
  
Steve growled in pleasure at the site of her. Deep purple velvet clinging to her hips and falling to the floor. From the front the dress was modest. A soft scoop of a neckline just below her collar bone, the front edge tipping forward just enough to show the pewter silk lining. From the back she was irresistible. An open stretch of creamy skin framed by velvet that flared open to reveal expanses of more pewter silk. It looked ready to slip off her shoulder and expose her to the waist. A delicate silver chain between the shoulders replaced a necklace. When she had unpacked the dress from Fredrick, the chain had a silver tassel hanging from it. Now the violet Jade iris Steve had given her practically glowed between her shoulder blades.  
  
He kissed the base of her neck. “You look amazing.”  
  
Amy turned and pressed into him, smoothing his lapels. Fredrick was a genius. Were Steve’s shoulders actually this broad or was it just the cut of the jacket. “I could say the same. We really should give ourselves more time to get ready next time.”  
  
He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger. She was looking more and more like herself all the time. “Why? We aren’t late.”  
  
“Because there isn’t nearly enough time for me to tear that suit off you if we are going to make it on time.” Amy pushed his collar down and kissed the soft hollow at the base of his throat. Carefully she pulled the crisp white fabric back over the red kiss. There she had marked him as hers. If anyone else tried to make a move on him they would find that he was already taken. Not that Steve would let them get that far. But there was always the chance someone would catch him off guard. And he looked rather pleased by the kiss.  
  
*****  
  
They emerged from Steve’s room at the same time Nat was stepping out her door. Amy looked her up and down. A sleek black gown in a subtle brocade, red silk banded the top edge and flowed over her shoulders to form the straps. Natasha spun indulgently. Steve whistled at the back. The red silk continued around the sides of the low back before floating into a train made of sharp knife pleats. A sparkling gold and ruby bracelet sparkled at her wrist. “Look at you. You’re one classy dame Romanov. They should put you in the pictures.”  
  
Nat laughed and took his arm. “Careful soldier, your date might get jealous.”  
  
“Nah, my sugar knows I’m rationed.” Steve slung an arm around Amy’s shoulder and pulled her in against his other side. This night had gone from something he was dreading to what promised to be a fun evening.  
  
They were all still laughing when they got to the entrance hall. Pepper was the only one down so far. Pacing fretfully between the two low conversation benches the dominated the room. She turned sharply to survey the group. Steve looked good. Very put together, dramatic but classic and reserved. The women were the real showstoppers though. “Okay this is not fair. Your dresses are both too perfect. Who are they even by?”  
  
“Fredrick obviously. He did Steve’s suit too.” Amy shrugged languidly making the velvet of her dress ripple attractively. “You can’t be jealous though. Not when you are wearing that absolute confection. Is that the Elie Saab? I thought the spring collection wouldn’t be ready for delivery until February?”  
  
Pepper held up her cream lace clad arms. “They rushed it for me. I’ve been loving him lately. Everything is so light and airy. I keep overheating in my other formal dresses.” She spun so the layered skirt fluttered around her.  
  
“We’ll it’s fabulous on you.” Natasha said draping herself against the wall. She loved the dresses Fredrick made for her. She looked like a dream from old Hollywood, but she was still armed to the teeth and her movements were completely unrestricted. It was a nice change from spending galas nervous about how few weapons she had or how long it would take her to reach them.  
  
“Is this supposed to sit like this? I feel ridiculous.” Wanda half tripped down the stairs in a tight red gown with an overtire in a darker red forming a sweeping bustle.  
  
“Come here dear, your lining is twisted.” Natasha reached down to adjust the inside of the over-skirt.  
  
“Why does Steve’s suit look so much better than mine.” Sam asked still trying to straighten his tie. Nat took pity on him and quickly retied it, so the knot was crisp, and it hung neatly. Amy smiled, her friend accused Steve of being a mother hen, but really, she was just as bad.  
  
Steve shrugged. “I’ve got a guy.”  
  
“Is it Amy? Is Amy you’re guy?” Tony waltzed into the room. His suit was significantly flashier than Steve’s. Red and gold flowers on a burgundy background, gold lapels. Black pants and a red and yellow shirt, closer inspection showed the shirt to be covered in a tiny repeating pattern of Tony’s Iron Man helmet. He was a study in overstatement. The one thing Steve could say about the look was it was a good counter point to Pepper’s outfit. Tony was so over the top that the simplicity of Pepper’s dress shone next to it.  
  
Rhody followed him down the stairs straightening the cuffs on his on dark grey three-piece suit. Much more subdued than Tony’s look, his one concession to flamboyance was a rust coloured shirt open at the collar.  
  
“Technically, her guy is my guy. Point is my look is- what are the kids saying these days?” He snapped his fingers trying to remember the phrase. “On fleek. My look is on fleek.”  
  
Wanda gaped at him. Blinking several times. “Please, never say that again.”  
  
Vision phased through the ceiling dressed in a classic tuxedo. “I believe we are all here. Shall we make our way into the ballroom?”  
  
“Hang on, Wanda needs some sparkle.” Amy pulled a long thin box out of her pocket and tossed it to the other woman. Someone needed to spoil the girl. Steve wouldn’t think of it and Tony wouldn’t know what to get her. Amy had seen this when she had been shopping with Freddy and had known that it would be perfect for Wanda. “Merry Christmas.”  
  
Wanda opened the box. Inside was a wide necklace. Two inches wide, pale rose gold set with hundreds of tiny rubies in shading form deep burgundy to bright scarlet, all shaped like tiny fragments of shattered glass. “It’s gorgeous.”  
  
“Please. Allow me.” Vision extended his hand with a slight bow. Wanda passed him the box and turned so he could fasten the clasp behind her neck.  
  
Pepper frowned. Amy hadn’t been holding a box when she came down. “Hold on. Your dress has pockets?”  
  
“Does yours not?” Amy knew Fredrick spoiled her when it came to practicality in her evening wear, but she would have thought Pepper insisted on the same sort of luxuries.  
  
“How do they not ruin the lines?” Pepper was buying from the wrong designers. She should see if Amy would get her in to Fredrick’s next Tokyo show. Although neither Amy’s nor Nat’s dresses were ones Pepper recognised from any of his previous shows.  
  
“Fredrick is just that good.” Amy shrugged again. If Pepper’s evening dressed didn’t have pockets her work clothes probably didn’t either. Amy would have Fredrick send her something.  
  
“If you got jewellery for Wanda what did you get for Nat?” Rhody asked.  
  
“Let’s just say Steve isn’t the only one who got a house for Christmas.” Nat winked. The apartment building in Port-au-Prince was perfect. Owned by a shell corporation and managed by a local company who knew not to ask too many questions about why the third-floor apartment was to be kept clean and empty.


	25. People You Don't Expect to see at Parties

Tony had a whole grand entrance planned. Amy kissed Steve’s cheek and slipped away before she got roped into the pantomime. She tucked herself into corner and watched as the lights flashed and the music crashed.  
  
Steve escaped the mob. As soon as space opened up beside him, Amy swooped in and reattached herself to his arm. Steve let out a long sigh. He was far more comfortable with her beside him. She held his hand and carried him through the first few conversations. Steve would go so far as to describe the ten minutes they spent talking to the secretary of the interior as pleasant. The woman had been one of Amy’s professors before Amy’s graduation and her appointment. They chatted pleasantly about mutual acquaintances and what Amy was researching these days. Steve hid a grin when he realised the 'project' Amy was talking about was her Winter Soldier research.  
  
Another half hour of less enjoyable, but still bearable small talk. Steve spotted one of the key people he was supposed to win over tonight.  
  
“That is Senator Warrener. I’d better go say hello.” Steve didn’t want to talk to the Senator. He was a leading voice on the opposite side of pretty much every issue Steve could think of. The senator was against mirage equality, gun control, universal health care, and pretty much anything that resembled social programs. Worse, no matter what Steve said the man was _convinced_ that Steve was on his side. Tony wasn’t even allowed to talk to him after his comments about global warming last year.  
  
Unfortunately, he was also head of the defence spending comity so Steve couldn’t just lecture the senator into submission. Fortunately, Steve had a new secret weapon up his sleeve, in the form of the most amazing date. “Want to come?”  
  
“Mmm, I really don’t.” Amy kissed his cheek. Senator Warrener was part of her father’s generation, if not his social group, and he did not like her. As far as Amy could tell he thought she was an upstart who hadn’t deserved her position at the museum. Although it was also possible, he thought she was a spy. “You go. I’ll get drinks and bail you out in five.”  
  
Five minutes. He only had to talk to the man for five minutes. Then his girl would sweep in and rescue him. “You’re an angel. You know that, right?”  
  
Amy patted his cheek. He really did see the best in her. She was nowhere near as simple as an angel. “Goddess dear. I’m a goddess.”  
  
*****  
  
There was a wait at the bar. A group of military industrialists were domination the bartender’s attention with questions about the tequila assortment. Amy leaned her elbows on the bar. She wasn’t in a hurry. She debated checking her phone. She probably had emails that she needed to respond to. But she didn’t want to look bored. It could reflect badly on Steve.  
  
A man sidled up beside her standing a little too close. Turned to regard him blankly. The CEO of that new tec company. The one with the block chain currency. Amy couldn’t place his name. He didn’t seem put off by her cold welcome though. Brandishing two champagne flutes he grinned at her in what she was suspected was supposed to be a seductive manner. “Champagne for the most gorgeous woman in the room? You are exquisitely exotic. Do you know that.”  
  
Amy bit down a scathing reply. She was here for Steve, that meant she was playing nice tonight. “Thank you. But there are a couple of problems with your plan.”  
  
He leaned closer to Amy. Raking his eyes over her, lingering on her empty left hand. “I don’t see any problems.”  
  
“Well off the top of my head. The goddess doesn’t drink champagne. And you’re not really her type.” A cool sarcastic voice with a crisp Eaton accent sounded behind Amy.  
  
Amy bit her lip to suppress a grin. She would recognise that voice anywhere, Captain Brian Braddock. All six and a half feet of blond-haired blue eyes British aristocrat, leaning against the bar on her other side with a drinking each hand. He was leaner than Steve, but still muscular, with a sharply chiselled jaw. Amy wondered briefly if the fact that her favourite hook-up and her first long term relationship since the one that almost killed her had the same general look and physicality meant she had a type.  
  
No, Steve was always kind and warm. Brian could be a dick. It was why they had gotten along so well. And why he was grinning that evil grin now. She hadn’t seen him since the day the Winter Soldier had shown up in DC. He had been busy the last year and a half. Another tour in the middle east, several very successful missions. Including one with her brother Ken that had resulted in the freeing of almost thirty hostages. And now here he was swanning in like a knight in shining armour. Not something she put up with from most people.  
  
He did have a drink for her though, she’d wait and see where he was going with this. Amy accepted the whiskey sour he offered her raising the glass in a small salute.  
  
Brian pressed on without acknowledging the gesture. “Then there is the fact that she is clearly here with someone. But I think the biggest thing is probably….” The blond raked his eyes up and down the older man taking time to linger over every flaw. Amy knew that look well. It didn’t matter if you were attracted to Brian or not, he could still make you feel undesirable with that look. “Well... Anyway.”  
  
The CEO blushed and skittered away, tail between his legs. Amy had a hard time feeling bad about it. After all _she_ wasn’t the one who had been mean to him.  
  
“You’re an ass.” Amy said, swirling the amber liquid in her glass. “I didn’t need rescuing.”  
  
“You never do.” Brian said clinking his glass against hers.  
  
“I can’t believe he called me exotic.” Amy slumped forward and banged her head on the bar. She hated being called exotic. It made her skin crawl. English had a ridiculous number of words for beautiful or attractive. So why did some men insist on using exotic?  
  
“I can’t believe you left him standing after he called you exotic.” Brain leaned his back against the bar. The last time he had seen someone hit on the goddess like that they had ended up with a black eye. As a general rule if she wasn’t the one to initiate a flirtation the other person didn’t stand a chance. He hadn’t expected to see Amy here. He hadn’t spotted either of her brothers or her cousin. Was it possible that the goddess was here as someone’s date? He had though he was the only non-relative she would put up with for a whole evening. “So, if you’re not here with me, who are you here with?”  
  
“The Captain.” Amy nodded at Steve’s back. Despite his protests he had charmed everyone involved in his conversation.  
  
Brian whistled. “No way. Did you two crazy kids get back together?” He should have known. Ken had emailed him last year thrilled that his sister had found someone who could keep up with her long term. Then he had heard from Matt when it had ended. Then nothing for several month. He was happy for her. It was good to see her in an actual relationship. Maybe she was working through her trust issues. And maybe she would wing-man for him. “That means you can introduce me to the cute fly boy over there.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. He had been in the field for two years essentially without leave and he still knew about them. She blamed Ken. “Which cute fly boy?”  
  
Brian looked at her askance as if there was a question which air force boy could have caught his eye. “Which cute- some days goddess, some days. Come on I want to be on more than a last name basis with Wilson by the end of the night.”  
  
Amy took his arm. Brian wanted to meet Sam. She would introduce Brian to Sam.  
  
“There you are.” Amy set her drink on the high topped table next to Sam.  
  
He smiled and turned away from the PA he was talking to. Oh good, Amy was here. He had been trying desperately to come up with a way to get out of this conversation without out and out rejecting the poor girl. She was cute, and she was trying so hard. It wasn’t her fault that he was a lost cause. Amy’s arrival intimidated the PA and her friend into making their farewells and trying for greener pastures.  
  
Amy was unphased by the departure. She had a mission. Introduce her friend and give him a good enough start to have a shot with the very picky Sam. “Have you met my friend Brian?”  
  
“Hi Brian. What do you do?” Sam clasped the man's hand and gave him an apprising look. Tall muscular in that way you couldn’t get just from the gym. Wind burn on his cheek bones and distinct tan lines at his wrists. Something active duty. Either commissioned officer or boutique private security based on how well that suit fit him.  
  
“I’m a captain in Her Majesty’s Horse Guard.” Brian said leaning on the table and angling himself towards Sam. It cut Amy out of the conversation a little. But she was almost done with her part her anyway.  
  
“Oh? Cavalry. That’s….” Commissioned officer with a cute accent. On the one hand he was cute. On the other hand, who the hell was in the cavalry anymore?  
  
Brian licked his lower lip subtly. Fly boy was curious now. Good. He liked curious. “Incredibly archaic. I know. We Brits love traditional warfare.”  
  
Amy snorted into her drink. Brian was playing games. Poor decision. Sam was a direct kind of guy. “If you make a stallion joke, I will be forced to tell Sam a series of embarrassing stories. Including the thing in Edinburgh.”  
  
Brian glared at her. Edinburgh was a low blow. There was just no coming back from ‘fish and chips shop dumpster’. She would do it too. “You’re mean.”  
  
“And you haven’t been _near_ a horse in years.” Amy quipped back.  
  
Sam looked between the two of them. Why hadn’t a Captain of the Horse Guard been near a horse? For that matter how had a captain of the Horse Guard developed a uniform tan. The UK wasn’t known for its sunbathing. And he was defiantly British. “I’m missing something.”  
  
“He’s and SAS sniper.” Amy said simply. She would have Thought that was obvious. How many Brian’s did Sam think she knew? Brian gaped at her offended, he had been having fun teasing Sam. “What? You want a subtle wing man, or do you want to get somewhere?”  
  
“And I see what I’m missing.” This was _that_ Brian. Not just Amy’s friend. The _goddess’s_ friend Brian notorious bi playboy. And Amy was wing manning him, which meant he was interested in Sam. “Sam Wilson. How do you feel about parachuting?”  
  
“Like it would be a lot more fun with you.” Brian grinned and shifted closer.  
  
Amy rolled her eyes and tuned out their continued flirting. It was almost time to rescue Steve. There was no point in finding a new conversation to join. This one seemed to be going quite well with out her help.  
  
Amy spotted a shaved black head across the crowded room. “Shit.” She muttered to herself and ducked behind Sam.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Brian asked not looking at her. Looking at Amy when she was trying to avoid being seen had landed him in more bar fights than he cared to think about.  
  
“I didn’t realise that Furry would be here.” Amy suppressed a nervous laugh. Why hadn’t she thought he would be here? He was still a director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just because she had managed to avoid him so far, didn’t mean that her luck would hold forever. Damn. Damn. Damn. She should have come clean with Steve ages ago.  
  
“Is that a problem.” Sam said watching the man who was technically his boss wind his way through the crowd. In all his time here, Sam had only met the man twice.  
  
Amy winced. She really didn’t want to explain to anyone other than Steve and if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to explain to him either. “Not exactly, but I need to talk to Steve before he talks to Furry.”  
  
“Want us to distract him?” Brain ask, sipping his drink. It wouldn’t be the first time he played distraction for the goddess and the odds of being set on fire were significantly lower this time.  
  
“Yes please.” If the situation was less dire, she would tell him off for using that tone with her. As it was, she kind of needed his help. Oh, he was never going to let her live this down.  
  
Brian grinned wickedly. The goddess showing weakness. Someone had it bad for the pretty captain. He’d help her out. And then he was going to tease her mercilessly. “Come on Fly Boy. I’ve never met a director of S.H.I.E.L.D. before.”  
  
Sam levered himself off the wall. This was either going to be a lot of fun or the start of an international diplomatic incident. He was probably an idiot, but he was going to find out which. “Why do get the feeling that isn’t true?”  
  
Brian threw his arm around Sam’s shoulder. This was going to be fun. “Probably because Peggy Carter is my godmother.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve’s jaw hurt from fake smiling. He was about to burst a blood vessel talking to these politicians. It had to have been five minutes by now. He spotted a flash of distinctive violet out of the corner of his eye. Thank God. His girl was here to rescue him.  
  
Amy grabbed his arm. She smiled around at the group and made some appeasing comments about being sorry to have to steal him away. On tip toe, she whispered softly in his ear. “Come with me.”  
  
Now that was the best rescue he could think of. He smothered a grin. Trying to look nonchalant as he took her arm. “Where are we going?” He whispered back. Her hair brushing his face. The flower and smoke sent of her invading his head.  
  
She winked back at him and slipped into the stairwell. Steve followed her to an abandoned office one floor down. He grabbed her around the waist and pressed her against the wall. He crushed his mouth against hers. Excited by the illicit nature of this plan.  
  
Amy wasn’t kissing him back as enthusiastically as he had expected. Steve pulled away breathless. “Sorry. I thought this is what you had planned.”  
  
She set her hands on his hips. He looked so upset. “No. Love the idea, very interested. My thing is less fun.”  
  
He ran a thumb over her clavicle. “We’d better do your first then. What is it?”  
  
“Full disclosure.” Steve raised an eyebrow curiously. Amy took a deep breath before she started. It would be fine. He had to know, but it would be fine. “Bartoc was one of my contacts, Furry got his name from me.”  
  
“You know Furry?” Steve asked surprised. How small was his word? No, it wasn’t his world. Amy knew everyone.  
  
Amy relaxed her shoulders. He didn’t blame her. Of course, he didn’t her sweet boy. He never blamed people for things they couldn’t control. All he wanted was the facts. “We are nodding acquaintances. We move in some of the same circles.”  
  
“And you think he might mention Bartoc when he talks to you?” Steve asked taking her hand again. Furry might. Especially if he blamed Amy for giving him bad intelligence.  
  
“Given how badly the hot head messed up? Yeah I do.” Amy’s expression darkened. She should have known he couldn’t follow orders.  
  
“How did he mess up?” Steve was having a hard time not laughing. She was so worried about how he would react. It was cute.  
  
“He decided to showboat and try to fight _you_, instead of cutting and running like he was supposed to.” Amy rolled her eyes. Hand to hand combat with Captain America, of all the stupid ideas.  
  
Steve considered her confession. Amy had a lot of contacts and no ties to Hydra. It made sense that Furry would go to her for suggestions if they had a prior relationship. He didn’t have a problem with her being good at her job. “Did you know that he would be up against Nat and I when you passed on his name?”  
  
Amy shook her head. She should have demanded details up front. The only excuse she could come up with was it had been a busy week and she hadn’t wanted to deal with the Furry’s fussing about clearance levels and compartmentalisation. “They were sending SEALs originally. If I’d known he was looking for someone to take on the two of you, I wouldn’t have given him Bartoc’s name.”  
  
“Whose name would you have given him?” Steve asked. He had to admit he was curious. It didn’t surprise him that some of Amy’s boys had turned mercenary. If anything, he was surprised that Bartoc was the best of the ones who had.  
  
Amy snorted in derision. “I would have told him the truth. The only team I think can match you is mine and we don’t work for money.”  
  
Steve leaned back against the desk. She had slept with a notorious mercenary. If she had slept with him who else was on her list? He considered what he knew about her type. Strong personality. Excellent at combat. Dark sense of humour. There was someone who met all those criteria that he wasn’t sure he could forgive her for sleeping with. “What about Rumlow?”  
  
“Leader of a shield strike team, middling scores during joint training, something vaguely off about him even before we knew he worked for Hydra? He couldn’t take the two of you in anything resembling a fair fight. I know he had you on the ropes last time, but you didn’t have Nat backing you.” Amy waved away the very idea that Rumlow was a real threat to Steve. No jumped-up thug could take her boy without underhanded tricks.  
  
Steve kept his face blank. He wasn’t sure if she seriously thought he had been asking if Rumlow could take him and Natasha or was avoiding his actual question. He needed the answer to that question. “Did you sleep with him?”  
  
The disgusted look she gave him made it clear she hadn’t even considered that option. “No. I don’t do submissive. I expect and equal in bed and I doubt Rumlow could even get it up if he wasn’t aggressively dominant. If you check, there were a number of complaints.”  
  
Steve relaxed. He should have known. People thought he was inflexible when it came to his morals, they had never seen Amy when hers were challenged. “Anything else I should know before I talk to Furry?”  
  
Amy ran through every conversation she had ever had with the director. Some consultations about artefacts. A couple of vague conversations that she suspected were him feeling her out for the Avengers initiative. Mostly irrelevant. “I’m pretty sure they used one of my grad papers to design the room you woke up in.”  
  
Steve sighed. That wasn’t so bad. Amy had an extensive network of contacts. It was inevitable that it would overlap with his life at some point. And it wasn’t like she had tried to kill him herself. “Thank you for telling me.”  
  
Steve considered what he was going to do now. They could go back to the party. He could tell Furry that Amy had told him everything when the subject inevitably came up. There would be more small talk and more boring people with narrow minded ideas about what he should be doing with his time.  
  
Or he could stay here. With the woman he loved. His smart, beautiful, loyal Amy. He really should thank her for being so honest with him. He pulled her against him. “Want to do my thing now?”  
  
Amy blinked at him. Of course, she wanted to do his thing. She always wanted to do his thing. She had assumed he wouldn’t want to do anything once she explained that a guy she had slept with had once tried to kill him. “I mean if you still do.”  
  
Steve kissed her neck. “I know I’m not your first. I want to be your last and your favourite though.”  
  
She purred as his hands roamed over her. “You’re my favourite already.”  
  
He unclipped the chain letting her dress fall forwards. Amy’s eyes flashed in pleasure. She couldn’t think of a better feeling than Steve’s hands on her.  
  
He slid his hand into the waist of her dress searching for more skin. This was exactly what he needed to relax. His fingers brushed against something hard just below the fabric. “What’s this?”  
  
Amy laughed. “It’s a knife.”  
  
Steve grinned and ducked his head to her chest. Her laugh turned to a gasp as he found her nipple. Dangerous girl. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Bucky had started sleeping with a knife after a few months behind the lines. He couldn’t wait to introduce Amy to Bucky. He was sure they would get on like a house on fire. Bucky had usually carried more than one knife, something told him his girl was the same. It was as good an excuse as any to explore further. “Anymore?”  
  
Amy licked her lips. It was sweet that he couldn’t guess how many knives she had on her tonight. The look in his eyes was anything but sweet. Her Steve did mischievous so well. All sparkling eyes and little nipping kisses. “One on my ankle, one on my thigh.”  
  
“Really? Let’s see.” The long skirt almost defeated him as he shoved it up around her hips. He ran a hand over the dagger sheath on her thigh. He wouldn’t lie he was a little turned on seeing it there. There was something about knowing that she was deadly even when she was dressed like this. Especially when she was dressed like this.  
  
He kissed the silky skin below the strap circling her leg. Her happy noises spurred him on, nuzzling his way further between her legs. He mouthed at the black silk underwear covering her. They were already almost soaked through. He hooked his fingers around the thin straps at her hips and slid them off, dropping them on the desk beside her.  
  
So pretty, already glisteningly wet for him. He ran his knuckle up her slit, around her pert little clit and back down. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, over and over again. He knew he was driving her crazy. Amy let out a needy whimper and curled towards him.  
  
Steve slipped the finger into her. He leaned in again, licking at her clit. He alternated licking and sucking with curling his fingers against the soft spot just behind her pelvic bone. Listening carefully to the sweet sounds she was making to determine what to do at any given time. He knew he was good at this. He was proud of that fact. He had learned to read his girl like a book. A book that was moments away from orgasm.  
  
Shit, he knew exactly what he doing. Amy bit down hard on her hand to muffle the scream of her climax. There were distinct teeth marks left in her skin when she let go of the hand, panting to try and catch her breath.  
  
Steve eased his fingers out of her and gave her softly quivering wetness a few more long slow licks to ease her back down. He smiled up at her through his lashes. What was it about her smothering her screams that made them even hotter? He licked his lips, they tasted like her. His sweet girl. She was delicious.  
  
Amy ran a thumb over his cheek. “You are very good at that.”  
  
Steve kissed her. He could remember every time he had snuck out of tedious meetings and parties to do this with Peggy. He had loved it then and he loved it now. Nothing got him going quite like making his girl finish when he was supposed to be playing the responsible good boy. “This is almost exactly how I learned.”  
  
Amy kissed his neck, fingers searching for his button. It was his turn to relax and her turn to remind him why he liked sneaking away with her specifically.  
  
Steve closed his fingers over hers. He wanted her. The taste of her on his tongue, the feeling of her under his hand. He wanted her on her knees, or on her back. But he couldn’t have her. Not right now. “Slow down sweetheart. If I mess up your hair everyone will know what we were doing. We should get back out there before anyone misses us.”  
  
Amy chuckled wickedly and pulled him close by the waistband. “I appreciate the concern for my reputation. But you’re forgetting. I don’t care.” She opened the fly of his pants in a fluid motion. “So, let me give you this blow job. _Then_ we can go back out there. Let them twitter. I will be fine, and _you_ will be more relaxed.”  
  
It was very hard to object to anything when she was stroking him like that. Even harder when she dropped to her knees in front of him. Steve cupped the back of her head and moaned as she licked tip. She had definitely won this debate. Nothing to do now but enjoy the experience. Amy certainly was based on the purring noise she was making as she licked and sucked.  
  
Sweet- He had never figured out how she did that thing with her tongue, but it drove him crazy every time. This was going to be more of a sprint than a marathon. Which felt like her plan. Steve tipped his head back. Fingers tightening around a ball of fabric on the desk. Her head continued to move back and forth smoothly. Fuck. He was going to… Fireworks exploded behind his eyelids. Amy swallowed him all the way. Not letting a drop escape.  
  
Amy smirked and rocked neatly to her feet. Her boy looked significantly more relaxed. And he was terribly pretty with his pupils all huge like that. She leaned in and kissed him quickly, the top of her dress still hanging around her waist.  
  
“How is your lipstick still perfect?” He traced the curve of her lower lip with his empty hand. She should not look as composed as she did, given how good that had been. Steve looked at her crumpled panties in his hand. They had looked good on her. She looked even better without them. His Fox liked to play games. He could play too. He balled them up tighter and tucked them into his inside breast pocket.  
  
Amy grinned at him wickedly and refastened her dress. So, he was in that kind of mood today. Something told her that she wouldn’t be out of his arms reach much the rest of the evening. “Let me fix my hair and we can go.”  
  
*****  
  
They did end up staying close to each other the rest of the night. Amy wore her best geisha face and catalogued pieces of information that drifted into her ears. She knew most of the military officials and their wives from her parents’ parties. She had intelligence dossiers on pretty much everyone else. For every ‘oh, remember my father saying…’ and ‘And we used your reports when we trained for…’ Amy had a titbit she could slip Steve, so he looked brilliant, all knowing, and like he knew everyone personally.  
  
Between boring conversations Amy would whisper in his ear under the pretence of giving him helpful information. In reality it was an excuse for him to set his hand on the small of her back and crush her against him. He should feel embarrassed by the public display of affections, and by the knowing smirks. He wasn’t if anything it felt like having her on his arm like this only added to his reputation. Certainly, anyone in the room that was attracted to women was looking at him like he had won the lottery. It added a little steel to his spine, the same way it had when it had been Peggy escorting him. If the best girl in the room had chosen him, there had to be something too it.  
  
Amy did have to stare down a few twittering matrons. She was used to judgement and jealousy. It had never bothered her. As long as you kept your posture confident and owned whatever ‘bad’ behaviour they were judging you for they usually backed down embarrassed. Intention was everything in these societies. Know the rules and you can break as many of them as you want. Give them 12 hours and a bottle of champagne with brunch and the same people staring at her now would be celebrating her as a glamorous figure of mystery and mystique. The same way they always did.  
  
Speaking of people who knew how to break the rules. The few times she spotted Sam during the evening Brian was right there beside him. No that she spotted the often. She lost track of them both around midnight. That was Brian alright. Never one to waste an opportunity.


	26. Avengers After Party

The party wound down around two in the morning. An exhausted group of avengers crashed into the residence kitchen. Their formal wear now slightly rumpled. Rhody dropped into a seat at the table. Nat pulled up the chair next to him and tossed her feet into his lap. Tony pulled premade smoothies out of the fridge and started handing them out. Pepper kicked out of her shoes and rubbed the arch of her foot. It had been a long night. But everyone seemed to leave happy and impressed. With any luck the next few votes would go their way.  
  
Wanda rested her head on the table, already half asleep. Vision floated into the chair next to her and rubbed the back of her neck softly.  
  
Amy looked at the worn-out group. They needed food. Something greasy and delicious. She started gathering bits and pieces. Bread, butter, cheese. Cutting board, knife, cast iron frying pan.  
  
“What are you doing baby girl?” Steve asked leaning against the island. She looked good in the kitchen, but she did not look confident.  
  
“I am making grilled cheese for everyone.” Amy spread her ingredients on the counter. She could do this. She picked up the chef’s knife as confidently as she could. “…now how do you make the cheese stick to the bread?”  
  
Steve stepped in behind her and took her hands to guide her. If he rubbed against her a little and that reminded her that he had her underwear in his pocket still, the was just a coincidence. “Here. Let me show you.”  
  
He walked her through making the simple sandwich. Guiding her hands through the motions. Breath tickling he ear as he murmured instructions. She laughed as he physically picked her up with an arm around her ribs and moved them both to stove.  
  
The first sandwich came out of the pan and Steve flipped it onto a plate. He let Amy slip out of his arms and cut the sandwich in half. A knife she could handle. The next three followed in quick succession. Everyone at the table murmured appreciatively as the sandwiches were passed around.  
  
Sam emerged from the bedroom wing. Looking happy but slightly embarrassed. He had lost his jacket and dress shirt at some point. His tie was draped around his neck and his undershirt was untucked.  
  
“You had a fun night then.” Amy said passing Sam a plate. You didn’t have to go by the kitchen to get to the front door. So Sam hadn’t been forced to smuggle his guest past the rest of the team. But Amy suspected that if she went out to the valet stand right now, she would find a whistling Englishman.  
  
Sam took a big bite of the crispy sandwich. “You have no proof.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes and leaned back against Steve’s warm side. She liked the two of them together. Sam could use a life outside the Avengers and Brian could use the stability of someone who understood how his job dictated his life. And Brian would try to spoil Sam rotten, which would amuse her.  
  
*****  
  
Steve’s rooms were an island of calm. Decompressing with his team had been fun, but he was glad he was finally alone with his girl. He wasn’t going for a run in the morning. He was going to soak up every moment with her he could.  
  
Amy stepped neatly out of her dress. Her knives and shoes followed with a quick shimmy. “Get over here. I’ve missed you.”  
  
“Missed me? We’ve been together all night.” Steve laughed taking off his tie. Together. With her underwear in his pocket.  
  
“We have. And we haven’t.” She fell backwards onto the bed, bouncing slightly on the firm springs.  
  
“Oh? Was there something more you wanted?” Steve asked stripping the rest of his suit off. He could feel Amy devouring him with her eyes as the layers fell away.  
  
“You know there is.” Amy purred squirming on the sheets.  
  
Steve found a condom in the bedside table. He sat on the edge of the bed and held out a hand to her. “Come here then.”  
  
Amy’s eyes flashed. She rolled her knees and crawled towards him with long languid motions. She didn’t do this sort of thing for just anyone. People came to her not the other way around. Pretty much anyone else she would have just raised an eyebrow and waited. Steve she would go to. And he would make it worth her while.  
  
Steve lifted her onto his lap. Amy braced her knees on either side of his hips and lowered herself onto him slowly. He always stretched her deliciously. Sweet gods he was big. No matter how many times she took him like this, it was always a pleasant surprise. She started to move. Slowly at first. Then with a growing urgency.  
  
He wouldn’t lie he had been waiting for this too. And not just since she had dragged him into an office in the middle of a party for a quickie. Since she had shown up at his door. She was so fucking pretty riding him like this. Hot and tight around him. Tits bouncing inches from his face. He ducked his head and nipped at one of those perky nipples, drawing a gasp of pleasure from her.  
  
He cupped her ass and helped guide her up and down. “That’s my girl.” So. Fucking. pretty.  
  
He could feel her getting close. Steve crushed her against his chest and flipped them over so he could fuck her into the mattress to finish her off. Amy coming apart under him was one of his favourite things. She moaned as her back hit the sheets and he thrust into her hard.  
  
“My sweet. My Steve. I’m lost without _you_.” Amy curled her fingers into his hair, pulling his head to hers. She kept up a fluid stream of Japanese as he rolled his hips. She didn’t know what she would do when she lost this. When she lost him. She would have to come to terms with it someday. But not today. Today he was all hers. “_I adore you. I am yours. I am all yours._”  
  
Steve grinned into her skin. He loved when she switched languages. He lifted her hips off the bed and rocked into her again. Pressing kisses along her collar bone. He ground against her clit on the down stroke. He was close too. A few more strokes and he would lose it.  
  
The feeling of Amy’s orgasm shuddering around him pushed him over the edge. He buried himself in her one last time let himself go.  
  
Steve slumped forward onto her breathing hard. Amy’s hand found the back of his neck and stroked it gently. Fluffing the short hairs at the base of his skull. He eased out of her and she all but melted into the sheets.  
  
He smiled down at her. Sweet perfect girl. She finally looked really healthy again. Smooth skin. A healthy glow. Almost exactly like she had before. Almost. He traced space where her tattoo had been. “Are you ever going to get this redone?”  
  
“I’m never home long enough.” She laughed and rolled onto her stomach. That had been especially true this month. She had spent all week in shuttling between Tokyo and Fiji on the tale of a stockbroker who had been skimming off the Japanese Imperial Bonds. She had been home for four hours between that and leaving to come here. Just long enough to re-dye her hair and pick up the clothes Fredrick had packed for her.  
  
“Well if that’s the price I pay for keeping you with me.” Steve dipped his head to spine, slowly kissing along it. A last kiss to her shoulder and he slipped out of bed. The condom came off and landed in the trash. He poured two glasses of water and set them on the bedside table. Standing next to the bed, naked as the day he was born, he tried to remember if there was anything else he needed to do before he turned in for the night. He should probably check in and see how the night had gone on a macro scale. Whether their efforts had been worth it or not. That could wait until morning. It was hard to think clearly about anything when Amy was looking up at him like a contented cat.  
  
“We are doing that again in the morning.” Amy said stretching to take up as much of the bed as possible. Was his bed more comfortable than her was? It was defiantly bigger, absolutely huge for just her. Someone, Tony, it was absolutely Tony, had decided he needed an extra firm California king. It was the perfect firmness. And it smelled like him. That had to be it. She was glowing and surrounded by the sweet masculine smell of sleeping Steve. The only thing that would make this moment better would be surrounded by actual sleeping Steve.  
  
Steve climbed back into bed pulling the covers with him and tucking them both under the thick blankets. The only thing left to do was hold his girl all night. “My morning or your morning?”  
  
Amy glared and nestled closer to him. That was the ticket. So warm. So safe. The perfect way to end a very long day. “For reference I almost never mean your morning.”  
  
Steve kissed her head and leaned back into the pillows. It had been a good night after all. If only every work party could be like this one.  
  
*****  
  
The next day was a lazy one in the Avengers compound. Everyone lounged around the common room, Christmas movies playing in the background.  
  
Tony and Rhody were discussing their plan to leave for California in the morning. Sam was catching the train for DC in the afternoon.  
  
Steve had a relaxed Amy curled against his side. She was wearing a pair of legging stolen from Nat and one of his shirts. He had no idea what they were doing for Christmas, and he didn’t really care if it meant he got to keep holding her.  
  
Sam smiled at them. They made a cute picture, relaxing on the couch together. Maybe he was just feeling particularly romantic this morning, but he really hoped they could make it work this time. “What about you Amy? Going back to Virginia for Christmas?”  
  
Amy shook her head. “My brothers are both on deployment. My parents are going to California to see the girls. My sister in law’s family will be there too. She doesn’t need any more hose guests.”  
  
“So, what are you doing?” Rhody asked curiously. Amy had been known to spend Christmas with her brothers when they were deployed. Some very successful mission had been accomplished thanks to her visits.  
  
Amy stretched luxuriously, managing to work herself further into Steve’s lap in the process. “I will be spending Christmas at the imperial palace. Fried chicken and hot springs. The way Christmas is meant to be.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve took Amy back to his rooms after lunch. He didn’t really want to share her. Especially if he didn’t have her for long. Watching her pack hurt. There was no reason for him to have thought she was staying for long. Her bag was tiny. It would have been nice though.  
  
Amy noticed her boy’s sudden melancholy mood. He’s shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall trying to look small. “Penny for your thoughts.”  
  
“We’ll be apart for Christmas.” Steve rubbed his neck. It was silly. He shouldn’t have expected anything else. Having her last night was more than he could have hoped for.  
  
“Will we _Mon Ours_?” Amy asked smoothing the fall of her dress in it's garment bag. So that was it. Well she could fix that at least.  
  
Steve shrugged dejectedly. It would have been nice to have her with him over Christmas. But it would be fine. He and Wanda would do something. Maybe skating at Rockefeller plaza. Steve had never actually done that. “Well if you’re going back to Japan to spend it with Dai and Kiki.”  
  
“I thought you’d come with me.” She crossed to him and draped her arms over his shoulders. Silly boy. Thinking she’d ever want him anywhere but with her for the holiday that was so important to him. “Then we can have Christmas together. You and me. And Nat and Wanda if they want to but they might have other plans.”  
  
“And when exactly were you going to ask me.” He asked lifting her off her feet.  
  
“I’m asking now.” She purred wrapping herself around him. The truth was she had been scared to ask in case he wanted to spend the holidays with Peggy. But he hadn’t mentioned any plans leaving her feeling good about her idea.  
  
Steve laughed and sat down on the couch with Amy in his lap. His hands sliding under her shirt and around her waist in the process. Christmas with Amy. It sounded like a dream. “I don’t know, it’s awfully late. What if I had other plans? I might need some convincing.”  
  
“You’re incorrigible.” Amy softened the chastisement by pulling her shirt over her head. He was coming with her. Even if he wanted to pretend he hadn’t made the decision.  
  
“You love it.” Steve growled into a newly exposed stretch of skin at her collar bone. Christmas with his Amy. A perfect way to spend the holidays.  
  
“Maybe.” Amy winked and slipped off his lap.  
  
Steve leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He loved the way she convinced him. Her mouth warm on him, her hands cool against his skin.  
  
*****  
  
Wanda had been ecstatic at the idea of spending Christmas with her new friends in Japan. Natasha had agreed as well, saying that she would visit Clint and his family in the new year.  
  
By dinner time they were all settled on a private jet and well on their way. Wanda curled up with her phone. Natasha humming Vivaldi to herself as she read a book in Portuguese. Steve and Amy seated across from each other deeply engrossed in a game of go.


	27. Capture The Flag

Steve tried not to blush at Dai's knowing look when he and Amy arrived late to breakfast their first morning in Japan. He didn’t need to be embarrassed. He and Amy had gone for a morning run, that was all. The fact that the run balancing along the ropes strung tree to tree throughout the imperial complex had ended with sex in the moon viewing pavilion was just a detail.  
  
Natasha was smirking too. Although it was a slightly different knowing look, so Steve didn’t think it was about his morning exercise. To be safe he ignored her too, focusing on folding his legs under him as neatly as the rest of the people around the table.  
  
Natasha held up the morning paper. “Did you hear about this rash of blowfish poisonings?”  
  
“It’s tragic really. These invasive species are a menace. So much harder to clean. The fishing regulators should do something.” Any batted her eyes innocently and accepted tea from Dai. Nat had figured out her game then. There were only a few Yakuza members left that could drag her down with them. She had started picking them off before her accident, but she had only really started making progress since her recovery.  
  
“You’d think people would be smart and refrain from eating fugu until they figure out a way to stop this from happening.” Nat poured Steve a cup of coffee. The theatrics surprised Nat. Normally Amy preferred to make her work look like an accident. She had scared Jun'ichi’s face with a fugu, and she was killing the rest of the high-ranking members big his game the same way. She was sending a very clear message. You mess with the clan you die.  
  
Amy fixed her features into a look of vague concern as she helped herself to miso soup and omelet for breakfast. Nat would want to know how many targets she had left. She was so close to being done, there was only one member left alive who still had anything on her.  
  
That wasn’t really what Nat was asking though. “Oh, I’m sure some of those poor people tried. But you know how tempting things are when you can’t have them. Sometimes you just _have_ to have it, or you might die. Feels like a gun to the head.”  
  
“You think it feels like a gun to the head?” Nat asked raising on eyebrow. That was a surprising technical detail, Amy didn’t normally go in for guns.  
  
“Well its hard to eat with a knife to the throat.” Amy popped a cube of tofu into her mouth. It had been an effective strategy. Gun to the head fish on a plate. A threat that made it clear she would put the same skills they had abused to make them pay. Almost all of them had chosen the fish.  
  
“Why do I get the feeling we are talking about fish anymore?” Steve asked setting down his mug. Both women looked like cats full of fresh fish. Something he had good reference for since Ōjo was sitting between Wanda and Yuma being feed tidbits of salmon. Mostly by Wanda, Yuma was cradling her left hand in her lap, protecting a cast on her wrist.  
  
“What makes you think we ever were?” Nat winked mischievously. Steve should know by know. What she and Amy were talking about was almost never what they were talking about. “How many do you have left?”  
  
“One. But he's being difficult.” Amy growled. She would find Lan. And then she would be free.  
  
Steve watched his girl’s eye’s flash darkly. Amy would tell him in her own time. And he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.  
  
*****  
  
He really should be working. Steve couldn’t quite work up the will to feel guilty though. He and Amy so rarely had quite moments to just sit, enjoy each other’s company, do something as frivolous as play a few games of go. Loose a few games of go, in his case. Amy was thoroughly trouncing him today. It was a strategy game. Not all that different from chess. He should be doing better than this. True, he had learned the rules less than six months ago and she had been playing since she could pick up the black and white pieces. But still.  
  
It was the eyes. That’s what he would tell anyone who asked. Amy looked at him with those violet eyes full of trouble and all strategy and sense just vanished.  
  
He thought he could make a comeback this game though. He had her backed into a corner and he didn’t think she had noticed yet. Because he was being clever. Not because Ōjo had climbed into her lap and started demanding attention. The two things were unrelated.  
  
Damn his girl was cute with a cat nuzzling her face. It was so strangely domestic of her. He could imagine coming home to that sweet face at the end of a long day.  
  
The sound of thunder made both their heads snap up. The weather was completely wrong for a storm. Not thunder then. An attack.  
  
Steve kept pace with Amy as she bolted for the source of the noise. Grabbing a naginata on her way by the stand in the entrance hall. Around the ground Steve could see other instructors sprinting towards the trouble.  
  
The senior class of students had already surrounded the intruder. Little Hikari leading the charge, her naginata levelled at the tall blonde man's throat. The man had his hands above his shoulders and was clearly trying to talk his way out of his predicament. Not an easy task when his bright red cape kept tangling around his feet when he backed away.  
  
Steve laughed, it had been thunder. He would recognise that ridiculous cape anywhere. “Thor!”  
  
“Steven!” Thor called spun around and raised his hand higher bin greetings, pulling them back down suddenly when one of the students poked him with their weapon. Vicious as they were, he didn’t want to hurt the flock of children for defending their home. “I appear to need some assistance.”  
  
Amy waved a hand, dismissing Thor's attackers. Most of the instructors dispersed as well. Kiki stayed, sidling up to the Amy. “Did you have to land in the garden? We have a perfectly good parking lot.”  
  
“What are you doing here?” Steve crossed the scorched ground to hug his friend.  
  
“Yule tide is a time to spend with friends and family.” Thor grinned, looping an arm around Steve’s shoulders.  
  
“It’s going to take the moss ages to grow back.” Amy grumbled leaning on the shaft of her naginata. What was it about ageless divine beings that made them completely forget about how long things took. They either expected things to happen instantly or thought that 500 years was a reasonable timeline for a plan. Her great grandmother was exactly the same.  
  
“Did you want to bring Jane? I can have a plane sent for her.” Kiki asked resting her head on Amy's shoulder. Her friend was completely missing the point. They had an extra guest for Christmas. This was turning into a real celebration.  
  
Thor’s face fell dramatically. “Jane has decided that our relationship is untenable. She thinks it would be best if we took a break. I fear she may have found someone with whom she shares more interests.”  
  
Kiki nodded considering. A guest recovering from a fresh breakup. There really was only one appropriate form of entertainment then. Still hanging off her shoulder she turned to Amy. “Sake and Miyazaki?”  
  
“Seems like the right night for it.” Amy said nodding. Landscaping could wait.  
  
*****  
  
When your friend was going through a breakup you followed their lead on what they needed. That was a rule Steve had learned a very long time ago. Bucky had liked to wallow for a few days then go dancing. When Tony was on the outs with Pepper, usually because he’d gone on a mission without telling her, he liked ice-cream. Thor apparently was more than okay with the girls plan to watch adorable movies and drink.  
  
Steve didn’t end up drinking Kiki's sake. Thor had brought some of his Asgardian liquor and they toasted together with the deep amber liquid. He noticed dimly that Natasha and Amy had a different kind of bottle as well and were taking turns pouring small glasses for each other. Both of them seemed to be getting tipsier than he had ever seen them.  
  
He supposed there weren’t a lot of places either of them felt safe enough to indulge. He was glad that they had somewhere and hoped that he was part of why they felt safe. Even if the world was just blurry enough that he was having trouble reading the subtitles Amy had turned on for him.  
  
Everyone had arranged themselves on the big pillows in the main room. The couples all curled together. Wanda and Yuma giggling on one side. Natasha using Thor as a back rest. When Thor was sitting still at least. He kept getting up to get snacks for the group and refill everyone’s glasses. Apparently when he was sad, he liked to look after other people. Steve would have to remember that.  
  
Sen was washing the big tub when Thor forced himself between Steve and Amy on their pillow. He wrapped his arms around both of them and beamed at Steve. “I love this girl. You know why? Because she makes you _happy_. And you should be happy Steven. She is a great girl. You,” He drunkenly rolled his head to face Amy, who was trying very hard not to laugh. “I knew weren’t dead. Too much trickster in you die. You remind me so much of my brother. Only you have never stabbed me.”  
  
“And I hope I never have to uncle.” Amy said sipping at her pale-yellow. She was going to start laughing in a second. How had her life ended up like this? This life was too perfect. Too happy. She didn’t deserve it. And she wouldn’t change a thing about it for the world.  
  
Ōjo apparently wasn’t pleased that there were a dozen people in her house and none of them were paying attention to her. She leapt onto Steve’s shoulders yowling. Thor started and pulled away from the animal. “Niece. Should that be wandering around loose like this?”  
  
“My grandmother gave her to me. I don’t see any reason to place restrictions on her.” Amy replied, picking up the cat and settling her in her lap.  
  
“You’re not worried it will…” Thor made a vague destructive motion with his hand.  
  
Amy laughed. “No. I’m not worried. The imperial family has been keeping Ōjo’s line for years. They hardly ever turn into bloodthirsty demons and try to kill anyone. My Ōjo is a good girl, she eats a lot of fish and demands attention, but she will never turn on me. Will you kitten?” She kissed the cat on her fluffy head.  
  
Ōjo meowed in response and nuzzled Amy’s knee. Rubbing first her black ear, then her orange ear against Amy, marking her firmly as belonging to the cat.  
  
Thor narrowed his eyes sceptically. “If you say so.”  
  
“Seriously Thor. She’s a sweet cat. The worst thing she does is get into the bedroom and try to sleep your face.” Steve said reaching over and scratching the cat’s back affectionately. It was kind of nice to know the god was afraid of something. Giant alien whales? Plasma cannons? Vibranium Robots trying to cause a mass extinction? No problem. But he didn’t like cats. Not that Steve was going to tease him about it... much.  
  
In the meantime, Thor was sitting between Steve and Amy, and that was interfering with Steve’s plan to hold Amy all night. “Thor?”  
  
“Steven!” Thor exclaimed turning back to Steve, cat forgotten. His arm went around Steve’s neck again and pulled him into a hug.  
  
Steve shook his head. Thor was a very loving drunk. “Go sit in your own spot.”  
  
Thor nodded and clapped Steve on the back. There was no reason to worry about one creature apparently living peacefully under the protection of his brother’s children. They were sure to have everything under control. He moved back to the pillow he was sharing with Natasha. Lifting her and rearranging her so she would be comfortable with him laying behind her back. She cackled and tickled his side before leaning back into the friendly embrace.  
  
Steve pulled Amy tight against his side again. She turned her face into his neck, and he could feel her shaking with laughter. Ōjo carefully stretched out and set her front feet on Steve’s knee, arranging herself so both the humans could pet her.  
  
*****  
  
Morning always arrived so softly in Amy’s room. It was one of Steve’s favourite things about coming to visit her. The rice paper covering the windows softened dawn to a warm gentle glow.  
  
Last night had been special. There were very few nights he got to just sit around and shoot the shit with his friends. Even fewer where everything went well, and he woke up safe and warm if a little hung over. The last time in particular had ended badly. The memory of that night combined with the slight alcoholic tingle still lingering in his fingers remind him that he had skipped part of the story when he had told Amy about that night. It hadn’t felt important at the time. Not compared to everything else that had happened. Seeing Thor had made it feel relevant again. He wanted to tell Amy everything.  
  
His other favourite thing was waking up here was waking up with Amy wrapped around him. This morning she had his arm clutched firmly to her chest. He combed the fingers of his other hand through her hair thoughtfully. He could feel her heartbeat and her breathing. She was relaxed, she was also awake. “You know the last time I got drunk with Thor?”  
  
Amy stretched. So much for a morning of not moving. He was lucky he was cute, or she would be irritated by his wake up. “When you broke into my apartment? Yeah. I remember.”  
  
Steve laughed and kissed the top of her head. That night had been a different kind of adventure to the one he was thinking of. “No. After that. The night Ultron got turned on.”  
  
“What about it?” Amy curled against his chest. She loved waking up next to him when he was in a good mood. Laughing Steve was better than a cool drink on a hot day.  
  
Steve took one of her hands. Sliding their fingers together as he spoke. “Clint was making fun of Thor’s ‘who so ever is worthy can lift this hammer’ thing. Clint was convinced the whole thing was a trick. We were all tipsy, Tony turned it into a bet. Tony and Rhody tried to use their suits. Bruce made this ridiculous joke about the attempt turning him into the hulk….”  
  
“And.” Amy propped herself on an elbow to look at his face. Was he telling her what she thought he was telling her? She had known there was a possibility. He was so close to perfect. Still the implication was staggering.  
  
Steve looked up at her seriously. “And I think could. It was heavy, but I think I could. I got halfway through before I realised, I didn’t want to do it like that. Not when we were drunk.”  
  
“You really are too good to be true.” Amy kissed his cheek. He was perfect. He was worthy to lift the hammer. What the hell was he doing with her?  
  
Steve pulled her head back in against his neck. “I didn’t tell any of them. I let them think I couldn’t.”  
  
Amy smiled to his skin. It was like he didn’t realise how big of a thing this was. She understood not wanting to lift if as a joke. But if it came up again... “I suspect that if it ever comes up, they will forgive you. I doubt you will ever be asked to lift it because we need some nuts cracked.”  
  
*****  
  
Breakfast was set out in the main room. A half-asleep Fredrick sprawled on the table clutching a mug of coffee. His boyfriend sitting next to him looking far more collected. Amy jostled Dai’s knee as she settled into the spot beside her, he bumped his knuckles against hers affectionately and shoved her back in greeting. Steve took the spot next to her and she passed him a bowl of oatmeal in place of the elaborate tray of food she preferred. He stole half of her omelette with a kiss on her cheek.  
  
Natasha wandered in a few minuets later. Fredrick pushed a coffee towards her. She grumbled and drank down a scalding bowl of miso soup before touching it. Thor followed her in smiling brightly, He took the seat next to Natasha and stole her bowl of porridge to add to his own plate.  
  
The girls were the last ones to arrive. Both looking slightly worse for wear. Natasha pointed assertively at the large teapot in the centre of the table. Wanda made a face when she discovered it was cherry blossom tea, she wasn’t a fan of the salty after taste, but she finished the cup and poured herself a second one.  
  
“Lady Ayame?” Yuma knelt neatly across from her commander. She made her eyes big and her smile bright. Aiming for a wining look.  
  
“Yes Yuma.” Amy replied stirring her bowl of miso.  
  
Yuma stiffened her spine. Good things came to those who went for them. “I was thinking, it would be a shame if our guests didn’t get to experience the city.”  
  
Amy regarded her levelly she knew exactly what her younger teammate was trying. The sweet reasonableness didn’t fool her for a second. “You want to take Wanda to Hyotei and you can’t get a reservation.”  
  
Yuma flicked her eyes to Wanda who looked startled and guilty. Her commander was on to her. “…. Yes.”  
  
Amy sighed. She might not be fooled, but she was willing to indulge them. Especially since Yuma’s wrist still hadn’t healed, and she blamed herself for it being broken in the first place. “Dai. Call and tell Shiro that I will be in tonight and need a private room.”  
  
“Are we going out for dinner?” Steve asked as he pushed her hair to the side and kissed the back of her neck. He liked going out with her, and between work and her obsessive need for privacy they hardly ever got to. To be fair the last time he had tried to take her out for dinner they were attacked by the Russian mob. Still it would be nice to take his girl to something that wasn’t political.  
  
“So, it would seem.” Amy said into her tea. She would only spoil the girls a little. They wouldn’t be getting away with skipping training.  
  
“I need to bring Wanda with me more often.” Steve nuzzled behind her ear. He never got to take Amy out.  
  
“Yes.” She kissed him on the cheek. There he went again distracting her from her worry. He should visit more period. If bringing Wanda was the excuse he needed, she would take it.  
  
She liked when he was here with her. Not that she was going to gush about it. She had duties to take care of. Amy raised her voice as she stepped away from him. “And Wanda needs to explain why she doesn’t look ready for training.” She cuffed the younger girl on the side of the head, more a fluff of her hair than an actual smack. “You think the forces we are up against break for holidays? Twenty minutes. Get your gear and get down to the field. You are sparring with the future empress today. Yuma you too. Training everyday. No exceptions.”  
  
Steve grinned at Amy’s back and she walked away. He loved watching her fight.


	28. Dinner With Friends Is The Best

Thor whistled in the shower. Steve had forgotten that. He had also forgotten the god’s tendency for starting water fights. How Dai escaped the mayhem Steve couldn’t say. One second the smaller man had been under the shower head next to him. The next Thor was upending a bucket of water over Steve’s head and Dai was gone.  
  
Steve didn’t know where the bucket had come from either.  
  
He did know that he had thoroughly won the water fight. Wherever Dai had disappeared to, he had left his hand-held shower head loose, which meant Steve had two. Never let it be said Captain America didn’t use every advantage.  
  
Which left Thor shaking wet hair out of his eyes like a dog and laughing from deep in his stomach.  
  
Steve couldn’t help laughing too, as he tossed Thor a towel. “We’re going to be late if you don’t put some pants on.”  
  
“I should make some jest about how if Jane doesn’t want me there are many people who would appreciate my pants-less form.” Thor scrubbed the towel over his hair. “Ahh, but there is no one quite like Jane.”  
  
Steve shook his head and reached for his shirt. He knew that feeling. He had gotten another chance with Amy. Thor would get another chance. Maybe not with Jane. And he might need time before he found someone new. But the god had time, and his friends would be there for him no matter what. “You’ll rally bud. I believe in you.”  
  
*****  
  
The walk back from the bathhouse was good. The air was cool and Thor’s story about wrestling a six-armed alien was hilarious. It was strange to see Thor in casual civilian clothes. In the tower he had worn workout gear most of the time. Tony had repeatedly complained about how hard it was to get him to wear a shirt at all. Tonight’s combination of jeans, ponytail, and what Steve would have sworn was too many shirts, was some how effortlessly cool.  
  
Steve didn’t think he looked cool, but cool hadn’t been what he was going for when he had picked his outfit. It was nice to pick his for once. Lately he had been stuck in things picked out by S.H.I.E.L.D. stylists so much he was starting to feel like a toddler. Today he didn’t have to live up to an image. He could wear what he wanted. From his motorcycle boots and sharply pressed kakis. To his check button up and slouchy blazer. All topped off with his butter soft leather jacket. They were his and he was _comfortable_.  
  
The group was already gathering in the main room. Thor dropped into a neat kneel between Dai and Natasha, joining their conversation on the importance of checking weather reports before leaving for a mission. They were still missing Wanda, Yuma and Amy. Wanda and Yuma were probably still doing whatever it was girls did before going out with their friends. Which left Amy.  
  
Steve found her in the room next to their bedroom. It had been converted into a walk-in closet. Racks and shelves full of clothes filled three of the walls, the third was occupied by shelves full of shoes and accessories. He leaned against the doorframe and took a moment to just watch her. She was beautiful barefoot in a silk shift dress that matched her eyes. Low backed and floaty, it skimmed her curves and brushed her calves. He spotted a pair of black ankle boots laying on the floor and a charcoal trench coat draped over a stand in the corner.  
  
She would look good on his arm. She always looked good. Always made him look good when they had the chance to be together. Steve wished he could have her next to him all the time. Amy was pulling box after box off the shelf opening and discarding each in turn.  
  
“Something missing?” Steve slipped his arms around her waist and peered over her shoulder.  
  
“Just rich people problems, I’m spoiled for choice.” Amy kissed his cheek and continuing her search.  
  
With his arms around her he could see what was in the flat velvet boxes. They were all full of jewelry. Diamonds, sapphires, jade, and pearls. So many pearls. Different sizes, different lengths, dozens of pieces, in every shade of the rainbow, luminous white, jet black, champagne, pink, grey. “How many sets of pearls do you own?”  
  
“Darling, my family owns a third of Mikimoto.” Amy rejected a pink opera length necklace and reached for the next box. Against her back she felt Steve shaking with silent laughter. The feeling made her swell with laughter herself. “What? Why are you laughing?”  
  
“It’s just… I’m glad I bought you the necklace I did.” Steve picked up one of the boxes Amy had set aside, ice white pearls that would skim her collar bone. “On your birthday last year, I was thinking how good you would look in pearls and that if we were still together, I would have bought some for you.” He slipped the cool strand around her throat. They were exactly what he would have picked for her, simple, classic, perfect, and they were exactly what this outfit needed. He slid his hands down her back to her hips.  
  
Amy preened under his touch. She loved when he adored her like this. It made her feel so valuable and worthy. “I do look marvellous in pearls.”  
  
“You do.” He kissed the back of her neck, just above the clasp. She was flawless. His beautiful girl. “Come on sweetheart. I’m looking forward to taking my doll out twice in one month.”  
  
*****  
  
They walked into Kyoto. Down narrow cobbled streets lined with quaint shop houses. A more persistent rain had started as they were leaving the fox pavilion. The stand full lacquered umbrellas was emptied accordingly. Decorative lanterns cast glowing pools of light on the glistening stone.  
  
Steve kept his hand on the small of Amy’s back. Not that she needed him to steady her on the slick paving. She still moved with a lithe grace. Natasha, likewise, unbothered by the terrain, walked on Amy’s other side so they could chat about local elections in Belarus and how they might affect undocumented residents.  
  
Unlike Wanda who was being defeated by the combination of damp stone, steep slope, and high heels. She had given up and was leaning heavily on Thor’s arm. Yuma had taken his other arm. She had made a conscious decision to wear kitten heels for stability.  
  
The restaurant came into view at the bottom of the hill. Red and white door cloth fluttering softly in the evening breeze. White lanterns decorated with bold black calligraphy glowed welcomingly along the edge of the porch roof. A handful of other people were moving around the street. A child tugged on his mother’s sleeve and whispered something in her ear.  
  
Amy stepped out of Steve grip. It was starting. The mother approached the group cautiously. “Excuse me? You are Captain America and Thor? May we take a picture?”  
  
Steve and Thor smiled and agreed automatically. They were both very used to this. They tried to rope Natasha into the picture too, but she managed to insinuate herself behind the lens instead.  
  
Amy watched indulgently as the three of them took photos. A queue had started to form. She leaned over to Wanda who was staring at the scene, bemused. “And he wonders why we never go out for dinner. Are you hungry? We can start, they will understand.”  
  
“Why have none of them noticed me?” Wanda asked with furrowed brows. She was getting hungry. She was also a little disappointed. She had saved the world too. Was it her power? Were they scared of her?  
  
Amy patted Wanda’s shoulder sympathetically. It could be hard having famous friends. “You haven’t had as many highly public incidents yet. Anonymity is a valuable commodity, don’t be in such a hurry to throw it away.”  
  
Another family handed Steve their small child and posed with the two massive blonds. Steve shot the little group an apologetic glance. Amy smiled serenely in return and ducked under the door cloth to the restaurant. She stopped the owner with a hand on his arm. “We’ll take that private room now, and I don’t think we’ll wait for them.”  
  
The owner smiled and bowed. “Of course, my lady. I will direct the rest of your party to you once they are free.”  
  
“Thank you.” Amy beamed as the girls fell in behind her like ducklings.  
  
*****  
  
The boys managed to escape their fans just in time for the first course to be served. Amy smiled saluted Steve with a piece of tuna nagiri. He lowered himself into a kneeling position next to her with a groan. He still wasn’t sure he liked all these low tables. Amy loved them, but then she also made kneeling for hours with her toes tucked delicately under look effortless and elegant. She was very understanding about his need to lean against her side to steady himself as he shifted to find something that at least resembled a comfortable position.  
  
“Your public adores you _Mon Ours._” Amy murmured tipping her head close enough for her hair to brush his neck.  
  
“There is only one person that I need to adore me.” He whispered back. Tucking her hair behind her ear softly.  
  
She pressed her thigh against his and looked down at her plate. Steve smiled. Not quite a blush, but it took a lot to get Amy to blush.  
  
She was saved further embarrassment, by Thor bellowing from the other end of the table. “Niece! What is this your ward tells me about pirates?”  
  
Thigh still pressed firmly against Steve’s Amy turned her attention down the table. Amy’s story about her last mission in the South China sea set the table off in gales of laughter. Amy agreed the entire thing had been ridiculous. Although she had to give them credit for really committing to the theme. So many pirates concentrated on the practical aspect of the job rather than the aesthetics.  
  
New courses arrived at regular intervals, all decadent and delicious. This was the kind of party Steve liked. His friends, good food, nobody staring at him or demanding his attention. The serving staff appeared and disappeared without lingering. Steve attributed the deference to Amy. They weren’t scared of her exactly. But they were definitely very aware of her cool collected presence and seemed wary of causing her any displeasure. There had been a brief twittered conversation at the door between the second and third course, a flash of a glare from Amy had put an end to it. Since then the food had been delivered with gently lowered eyes and a simple explanation of what it was, no lingering to eaves drop or trying to snap photos from the door. If he ever forgot Amy was royal, he would just have to think back on that glare to remember. Clearly his princess did not appreciate her evening being interrupted.  
  
Everyone took turns telling stories. Nat told one about capturing an anarchist leader during a ballet performance while also playing Odile. The image of Natasha holding someone at gun point dressed in a full tutu and point shoes wasn’t one Steve would forget in a hurry. Thor’s ‘get help’ made Amy and Natasha both dissolve into giggles. Loki tried so hard to present an air of reserved dignity, trust his brother to undermine it at every opportunity. Wanda and Yuma who only knew him by reputation smiled along.  
  
Steve tapped his chopsticks against the edge of his bowl thoughtfully. “What if he threw you?”  
  
“I’m sorry?” Thor asked confused, a bite of pork halfway to his mouth.  
  
“No offence to your brother, but you’re clearly the bigger threat in close combat. What if he threw you?” If someone could deliver the biggest threat directly to the heart of the fighting. He'd thrown Natasha a few times. She was vicious, but she wasn’t as…durable as he was. If there was a way to get him to the centre of the fray. “Sorry. I’m thinking out loud…”  
  
The conversation continued around Steve. Steve let his mind wander, trying to pin down the thought that was eluding him. Thor could probably throw him. But if Thor was there Thor could also just drop himself into the centre of combat. Tony was the same, in the suit he could easily lift Steve and fly him in. But Tony in the suit was a better choice for causing chaos in the middle of a fight too. What he needed was a way to get to where he needed to be when he was out with just his lighter teammates. Something in the conversation pulled him back. Wanda explaining her new training regime to Thor, including her new work with Vision to use both sets of power in real life situations. “…Wanda. Do you think you could lift me? Maybe throw me?”  
  
“I think so, yes.” Wanda frowned. Steve obviously had some new plan forming. She had no idea what it was though.  
  
Amy was pretty sure she knew. She’d gotten that glint in her own eyes enough times to recognise a terrible idea when she saw one. “You’re going to do something stupid and reckless, aren’t you?”  
  
Steve smiled and wrapped an arm around her. “You love when I do stupid and reckless things.”  
  
Amy sighed and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. He was right. She kind of did. “Just promise you’ll call if you get into trouble.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve stretched on the futon waiting for Amy to get back. She was in the next room changing for bed. He couldn’t wait to see what silky lacy scrap of a thing she returned in. Couldn’t wait to get whatever it was off her either. Sparing with Thor had been the best workout he had had in ages. Dinner was delightful. Now he was ready to spend some time with his girl. Fun time if she was willing to go along with the little plan he had come up with for the evening. He was counting on her going along with at least the broad strokes. So much so that he was already naked under the blanket. He had gone shopping in her toy chest too.  
  
Finally, she slid the door closed behind her. She narrowed her eyes at his innocent expression. Someone was about to get her into trouble. “And what exactly are you planning?”  
  
Steve pulled her down onto the bed with him. “My team won.”  
  
“Debatable.” While he had managed to get her flag, he hadn’t made it back to his base with it.  
  
“Which I think, means I get to pick what we do tonight.” Steve ignored her objection. It wasn’t really about who had won. He rolled her on top of him.  
  
“Mmm. Depends what you had in mind.” Amy sat back across his hips and looked at him through her lashes. She was reasonably sure that whatever the had in mind was going to be fun. She adored the way he looked back. He devoured her with his eyes seeing everything about her and loving all of it.  
  
Steve grinned and produced a vibrator. A little egg-shaped thing that fit perfectly in her hand. “Let me watch you sweetheart. You know I like to watch you.”  
  
Amy peeled her shirt off. “And here I thought you were going to be difficult.”  
  
She rocked to her feet, standing over him she stepped out of her silky shorts and the panties underneath. Really, she shouldn’t have gotten dressed again at all. She should have come back in just a robe. He liked that, untying her robe and folding it back to find her naked. And she liked the way He looked at her when he was enjoying himself.  
  
Steve pushed the blanket back. Flicking his eyes down with a smirk. He knew exactly what she would see, and how it would make her pupils explode. He was already rock hard at the idea of watching her.  
  
Amy bit her lip. Gods he was glorious. All hard lines and creamy skin. And all hers. She was tempted to just sink down on him and ride him until he came apart under her. Her boy had asked for something though. And she was more than happy to give it to him. She sunk down next to him, heels together knees apart.  
  
Slowly, with eyes lowered seductively, Amy ran her hands up her thighs, over her stomach, ending cupping her breasts. She knew how to move to practically hypnotise anyone who was even remotely attracted to her. Steve was more than remotely attracted to her. She rolled her hips and spread her lips moaning prettily.  
  
Steve watched her gyrate. It was sexy, but she didn’t look like she was _enjoying,_ herself. That wouldn’t do. He didn’t want some pretend show. He wanted to see his girl having fun. He wanted to be able to visualise it clearly when she was to far away. Steve wrapped his arms around her and lay her back on the futon. “That’s better.”  
  
“Sorry, did you want to help?” Amy raised her eyebrows at him as he knelt beside her. Clearly, he was after a different kind of show than she had been giving him.  
  
Steve kissed her naked shoulder. “No, no. You do you. I’m just here to watch and enjoy.”  
  
Amy shook her head and ran her hands over her body again. Not seductively this time. Instead she touched herself the same way she would if she were alone. Fingers skimming over here skin. One hand tweaking her nipples the other dipping between her legs.  
  
Hot slickness started running down her legs. She switched from her fingers to the little egg. The vibrations coursed through her. Soft needy sighs escaped her at the feeling.  
  
Gorgeous. Amy was an absolute dream. Steve half closed his eyes watching her. A little dab of lube in his palm and he began to stroke himself. No better than a dream. She was real and she was all his.  
  
Amy slipped a finger into herself. Vibrations bubbling through her. Friction building in the sensitive softness at her entrance. Breathing hard, she let her head fall back. She could feel Steve watching her. The power of those perfect blue eyes on her was electric. No one had ever driven her crazy like Steve could.  
  
Steve cupped her chin and turned her face back. He wanted to see her eyes. She met his gaze hungrily, her tongue just peaking out from between her rose bud mouth. He pressed the pad of his thumb against the full lower lip. Her lips yielded, sucking the digit in eagerly.  
  
Her eyelashes fluttered and her eyes rolled back. She moaned into the thumb. Ever inch of Steve tasted amazing. Burnt sugar, smoke, and something uniquely him. Addictingly delicious. At moments like this Amy had no idea how she ever kept her mouth off him. Amy shuddered and moaned. A rush of pure pleasure tearing through her. Her entire body quaked with the power of her orgasm.  
  
Steve was going crazy watching her writhe. His hand wasn’t cutting it. Fumbling he found the box of condoms and rolled one on. Still stoking himself with one hand he ran the other one up and between Amy’s legs. She was just as wet as he had imagined. His two fingers slipped in easily.  
  
“Weren’t you just watching?” Amy purred arching into the touch. She enjoyed him watching, but she craved his hands all over her.  
  
“Changed my mind.” Steve growled scooping his arm around her waist and lifting. “Get on here pretty girl.”  
  
He pulled his fingers out and with the help of her free hand eased lined himself up against her slit. She lowered herself onto him slowly, luxuriating in the feeling of him filling her while the vibrator still buzzed at her sensitive clit. Amy rested her head against his neck and rocked her hips slowly.  
  
Steve closed his hands around her thighs and picked up the pace a little. He wanted more. Miles more. He wanted to spend all night making her finish over and over again. He needed the hot wet friction. At some point while he was finding his rhythm the vibrator ended up discarded and Amy’s arms went around his shoulders.  
  
Amy nipped at his neck. She’d wanted to do this all day. She was not proud of the part of her that was attracted to his violence, but she wouldn’t deny it either. Watching Steve fight drove her crazy, especially against a worthy opponent. His hands were like fire on her skin. Everywhere he touched sparked with pleasure. He could hold his own in a fight against a god, but she was anything but afraid that he would hurt her.  
  
Steve growled and tightened his grip with his left hand and worked his right in between them. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. He took a guilty pleasure in her vicious side too. More importantly the thought was getting her close again. Her lips were parted, her head had fallen back, her breathing was getting ragged again. She was right on the edge again.  
  
“That’s my girl. So pretty when you finish on me.” Steve kissed the sensitive spot just below her ear.  
  
She melted against him. New shudders racking her body. He loved her orgasms. Loved watching them loved feeling them. Loved tasting them on his tongue. The memory of her little stifled half screams were the bases of his fantasies when they were apart.  
  
More often than he would like to admit they were mixed with a guttural growl that he had heard through wall and canvases in a past life, or with a breathy sigh he used to drink in like water. He wouldn’t admit to hearing more than one voice in his head, but that was what fantasies were for wasn’t it. And she would look amazing wrapped around Bucky.  
  
Steve thrust into her a few more times. Burring himself deep inside her as he reached his own climax. One arm tight around her waist the other stretching up her back so he could tangle his fingers in her hair. She looked pretty amazing now. Shives of pleasure still washing over her skin.  
  
Amy nuzzled and kissed at his neck and along his collar bone. There was no urgency or real coordination in the movements anymore. Just affection.  
  
Steve lay her back on the futon where she collapsed bonelessly. Steve grabbed a cloth and wiped them both down. Following each swipe of the cloth with a little kiss. Cloth and condom went into the trash and Steve returned to the sleepy woman sprawled on the futon.  
  
Amy blinked up him happy and exhausted. “Feel like the victor?”  
  
“And very pleased with my prize.” Steve flopped down next to her. He could feel her smile and she pressed her face into his side. A couple hours sleep, and he would wake her up. She already had her big present, but he had something better than an orange in a stocking in mind for Christmas morning.  



	29. Christmas Day

Christmas day was spent lounging around. Every soft surface was occupied. No one was doing anything more taxing than reading for pleasure. Amy kept the main table full of snacks and finger foods. Rotating them as the day went on. Between feeding them, Amy and Steve played more go. He was getting better at the game. He could win almost half of the games.  
  
Despite Amy’s earlier protestations Wanda and Yuma stayed in their pajamas most of the day. One of them had decided to spend their time playing through a racing video game. They had commandeered the tv in the main room and dragged Thor into a three-way tournament.  
  
Natasha never emerged from the depths of a giant hoody. One that Steve was pretty sure had originally been his. Who would give Nat a hoody that proudly proclaimed her allegiance to Brooklyn University 'Home of the Caps!’? He really should check her room for all the clothes that had disappeared from his closet.  
  
He needed to check Amy’s too. That was definitely his Dodgers tee-shirt. She could keep it though. It looked good on her. Especially when she bent over to set out more nibbles like that.  
  
Steve’s eyes went wide when he saw what was on the plate Amy was adding to the table of snacks. “Irish shortbread! My ma used to make these every year. Tony made sure I had a plate of them last year, but they are a pain to find.”  
  
“Tony didn’t get them for you last year.” Nat said snagging one of the soft golden cookies. It had been such a relaxing day. A little havoc would spice up her afternoon.  
  
“Nat.” Amy hissed. Her hand freezing as she reached for the pot of tea. She was so caught.  
  
Steve looked between Nat’s falsely innocent smile and Amy’s irritated glower. “Can I assume that you also didn’t get them for me?”  
  
Nat bit into the flaky cookie. “I think we can both agree that I never went out of my way to find you nostalgic baked goods. Unlike some people.”  
  
Steve looked at Amy who had gone unnervingly still. Amy didn’t cook. He knew that. It was why he impressed her with the little he could do. So how had she always had his favourites for desserts? “You weren’t talking to me last Christmas.”  
  
“Wasn’t I?” Amy said innocently. She hadn’t been. She had spent last Christmas ignoring his calls and pretending everything was fine for her parents… And arranging for her favourite pastry chef to have ten dozen shortbread cookies delivered to the Avengers tower in such a way that Steve wouldn’t tie them back to her.  
  
Steve laced his fingers through Amy’s. His sweet girl. Always trying to make his life better in little surpassing ways.  
  
Around six in the evening an inhuman amount of fried chicken and sides appeared courtesy of Dai and an ugly Christmas sweatered Fredrick. Crackers were pulled and paper crowns distributed. Food and drinks were demolished.  
  
In the aftermath Steve had to admit that the inhuman amount had probably been about right considering their group included a super soldier, a genetically enhanced spy and an actual god. None of the others were exactly small eaters either. All that was left of their feast were a few sad breast pieces with most of the batter picked off and some half empty coleslaw containers.  
  
Thor eased to his feet. “It’s time.”  
  
“We’ll walk you out.” Amy stood gracefully and offered a hand to Steve.  
  
Steve took the hand and rocked to a standing position  
  
Natasha unfolded herself with the same easy elegance as Amy. The girls linked arms and lead the little group out of the pavilion.  
  
*****  
  
Natasha kissed Thor’s check affectionately. “Take care of yourself big guy.”  
  
“It was good to see you pal.” Steve hugged his friend hard. Of all the Avengers Thor was the one who really got him. “Sure you don’t want to stay longer? I know the team back in the States would love to see you.”  
  
Thor sighed wistfully. He would have liked to stay with his friends, either here or in Asgard. But duty came before pleasure and he had taken enough time away from his quest. “I have to get back out there. My search for infinity stones isn’t going well.”  
  
“No?” Amy asked curiously. The foxes knew where four of the stones were. It was the ones that were still missing that were concerning just now.  
  
“Lots of leads no stones.” Thor said flipping Mjolnir distractedly.  
  
“If you ever need anything, you know how to get a hold of us.” Amy kissed his cheek and gestured towards the parking lot. Earth had more than it’s share of infinity stones these days. Her uncle would find the others. And if he didn’t her family had a pan to keep at least some of the local ones safe.  
  
Thor clapped her on the back stepped into the centre of the cleared space and thrust his hammer into the air. A flash of multi coloured light and he was gone, leaving behind a smouldering knot pattern.  
  
“Now, was that so hard?” Amy grumbled in the direction of the scorched parking lot. She didn’t mind patterns burned into the utilitarian areas of her home. She just hated to see the hard work of her gardeners ruined.  
  
*****  
  
Steve had his hands behind Amy’s knees, pressing them back towards her head and open. Her skin was still practically steaming from the hot springs where they had spent most of boxing day. Goose bumps rose across Steve’s back where the cooler air of the bedroom touched him. The contrast between the fire where they touched and the cold around them only made the contact more intense. Amy let out a soft needy whimpered and clutched at his wrist.  
  
He smiled and licked along the length of her slit again. God, she was gorgeous when she was coming apart. She'd already finished once on his tongue. He wanted at least one more out of her before he fucked her. Sweet, pliable, blissed out Amy wrapped around him. Moaning and writhing as he made her finish repeatedly. He loved it. He was achingly hard just thinking about it.  
  
He shifted so he was bracing both legs with one arm, freeing his other hand to stroke himself. “So pretty sweetheart. Are you going to come for me again?”  
  
“Steve.” Amy moaned his name. She was so close. He had already gotten her there once with his fingers, but there was nothing like Steve’s tongue.  
  
A rock song blared out of Steve’s phone. They both froze. That was Tony’s ring tone. Tony preferred to text, he only called when it was an emergency. Or at least what he thought was an emergency. It could be terrorists holding the president hostage. Or he could have made long range thrusters, so Steve never had to chase his shield down again.  
  
“Answer it.” Amy groaned unfolding herself from his grip. He wouldn’t be able to focus until he knew for sure.  
Steve kissed her thigh. “It’s nothing. He mentioned something about chameleon tec for stealth suits before we left. I’m sure that’s all it is. Five minutes tops. You just lay there and think about how much you want me. Five minutes.”  
  
Another quick kiss and he grabbed the phone. “What’s up Tony?”  
  
Tony’s response sounded amused. Like he knew what he had interrupted.  
  
“It’s not a great time.” Steve said tracing a finger down Amy’s sternum. The faster he could get Tony off the line the sooner he could get back to what he had been doing.  
  
There was a flurry of speech from the other end of the line. Information coming too fast for Steve to get it all. He rocked to his feet and started pacing. “Slow down. What exactly is happening and what does it have to do with Portugal?”  
  
Not chameleon tec then. Amy propped herself on her elbows and watched him pace. Sweet gods his ass was perfect. If this did end up being nothing, she should definitely spend some time eating that tonight.  
  
Steve looked down at her and mouthed the word sorry. This was going to take more than five minutes.  
  
*****  
  
Amy lay back on the futon. Steve had been on the phone for twenty minuets. He probably wasn’t coming back to bed.  
  
Steve looked a little shell shocked when he finally hung up. “I’m going to miss your birthday.”  
  
“Its just a day.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked into a sitting position.  
  
Steve tucked her hair behind her ear. Turning her face up to hers. He had been looking forward to a full week with her. And he was sure Dai had something fun planned for her birthday. “Love you sweetheart.”  
  
“Go save the world.” Amy smiled warmly at him. She couldn’t be mad about him doing the part of his job he loved. “Call me when you’re safe.”  
  
He would be bored spending her birthday here anyway. The morning of New Year’s Day was spent visiting Fushimi Inari Shrine for a blessing. Amy always made a point of getting her blessing first thing in the morning. Last year she had visited the little shrine at the embassy. This year would be a little grander. It would take most of the day, between getting dressed in full formal kimono, processing to the temple, and waiting her turn for the blessing.  
  
Then for dinner, Amy would meet Dai and Kiki for ozoni. She had told them she didn’t need presents this year. She was pretty sure they had both gotten her something anyway.  
  
*****  
  
Amy had kept herself busy the week between Christmas and New Year’s. She and Kiki planned for the royal tour in the spring. She worked with the up and coming students.  
  
She avoided the news. She didn’t want to know what was going on in Portugal. The entire team was in on this one. Including Tony, Rhody and Vision. Amy didn’t want to think too hard about the kind of danger that entailed. It couldn’t be that bad. Her people would have called if it was. Still it had been a week and they were still working on whatever it was.  
  
Steve had called her first thing in the morning. He had sung Auld Lang Syne to her and told her he missed her over the sound of a waterfall in the background. Her heart had been full to bursting at the idea that he had carved out time to call her for her birthday even on a mission.  
  
Amy was determined to keep herself distracted between her shrine blessings and dinner with her family. Which right now meant perfecting her sword cuts. First forward across the dojo then backwards until her heel hit the wall. Back and forth for hours. Until each stab and cut was perfect every time. Until she stopped having to think about each motion and her muscles took over.  
  
“You are too hard on yourself little one.” A honey soft voice interrupted her near meditative trance.  
  
Amy sheathed her sword and bowed respectfully. The woman standing in the door of the dojo was clearly a Fox Demon of Nippon. With her almost floor length silver hair and flashing purple eyes she was unmistakable. She was more than just another of Amy’s aunts though, this was the woman who had raised her. More so even than her mother. “I’m not as good as you are auntie Sakura. I need to do better if I’m going to be worthy of my place among you. Practice makes perfect. You taught me that.”  
  
“My dear girl. I have been practicing our art since before your mother’s mother was born. All of us have. You must be patient with yourself. You have the rest of you very long life to prefect your skills. Take time to be young. Take time to be with your captain.” She pinched Amy’s cheek. Still so young and full of life. The world hadn’t worn her down yet. The days hadn’t started to blur together. She had so much left to do before she truly became one of them. “You still need to make us a new litter of foxes, I’m sure he would be willing to help with that. Enjoy your life, little fox. You do deserve this, all this and more.”  
  
Amy had to duck her head to Sakura could kiss her forehead. When had she gotten taller than her Aunt? Only a few inches but the realisation still surprised Amy. Sakura still towered over the world in Amy’s mind. Always grander and wiser than anyone except Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She was a legend even among the foxes. “I’ll try Auntie.”  
  
“That is all any of us can do.” She stoked Amy’s hair affectionately. Still dying the silver black, still not sure she really should be one of the foxes that lived forever. She might not believe it, but she really was the strongest fox in the last two hundred years. She deserved all this and more. “Grandmother is consulting a fortune-teller. We will be picking a date for your legitimization and elevation in the next few months. Be prepared.”  
  
She paused in the door. Ayame really was all grown up. The little girl who had caused her so much trouble was gone. Replaced with a beautiful young woman in love. “And happy birthday little fox.”  
  
*****  
  
A message from Amy pinged Steve’s phone. He opened it to find a selfie of her covering her face in exasperation, through the window behind her he could see a group of older men seated around a table apparently in heated debate.  
  
Amy: Trade talks with Singapore continue.  
  
Amy: I did not think anyone was this interested in fishing quotas from international waters.  
  
Amy: Might assassinate a secretary of state just to break up the monotony. Maybe then we can break for dinner.  
  
He smothered his smile and snuck a photo of the room he was in. Another conference room, this one occupied by the members of the US security counsel.  
  
Steve: Angry old white men deciding the fate of the world again.  
  
Steve: As the oldest and angriest man here, I think I should be allowed to veto some of their decisions.  
  
Amy: Wish I could help.  
  
Steve: Wish you were here at all.  
  
Steve: I could use one of those hand massages you do so well.  
  
Steve: My hand is practically stuck in a fist from trying not to punch someone.  
  
Amy: Wish I could be.  
  
Steve: Who’s idea was it for us to have jobs?  
  
Steve: It get’s in the way of spending all day in bed with you.  
  
Amy: I know right!  
  
Amy: Let’s run away. There is an island in the Indian Ocean I think you’ll like.  
  
Amy: We can spend all day naked on a beach. Just you and me and the sun and sand.  
  
Steve: That’s the dream.  
  
Amy: Call me in the morning?  
  
Steve: Always.  
  
Calling Amy before his morning run was the only thing that had gotten him through the last few weeks. Between her late nights and his early mornings, they could usually carve out a half hour with no interruptions or obligations.  
  
Neither of them had managed to find enough time for a visit since Christmas. The Japanese crown prince was leading trade talks, Amy was her cousin’s head of security. and Steve was bogged down with meetings and Avengers missions. Amy had been so busy she had been forced to telecommute to the last Sarah Rogers Foundation meeting. Almost a month and Steve was starting to go crazy missing her. He wanted her back in his arms and in his bed.  
  
*****  
  
Cocktail reception fundraisers were all the same. Steve had been to enough of them now to be able to call that a fact. The venues were all gorgeous, town houses, penthouse apartments, country houses, private restaurants.  
  
The conversation also tended to dissolve I to the same three conversations. Wasn’t he shocked at the state of politics today? How amazing it was that he had saved the world so many times. And the one he was trapped in now. “So, Captain. Why no Mrs. America? Wouldn’t a partner make things like this easier?”  
  
“My conversation isn’t good enough for you?” Steve joked. He hoped no one noticed the strain in his smile. This would be easier with someone beside him. With Amy beside him. Amy who was currently half a world away with her own life. “I haven’t found anyone that wants to put up with my lifestyle. Constant supervillain attacks are trying.”  
  
“There has to be someone. A guy like you. The ladies must be lining up.”  
  
“That’s true. But Peggy Carter is a hard act to follow.” No one could hold a candle to Peggy. Amy never tried to. Every time something with Peggy came up Amy deferred. She told him to spend more time with his best girl and let him talk to her when the visits wore him down.  
  
“What about that Maria Hill? She seems resilient.” The conversation rapidly devolved into an interrogation of Steve’s relationship with every eligible female that he was even tangentially related too. He deflected the probing questions, dancing around the subject and trying to turn the conversation back on them. He learned far more about the bedroom habits of political socialites than he ever wanted to know.  
  
It took him the better part of an hour to extract himself and make a break for the bathroom. Steve leaned against the closed door. It had been a narrow escape. He had been in fire fights that were less stressful than this. Society wives were vicious when they were tipsy.  
  
Steve: Hope your meetings are going better than my reception.  
  
Steve: Just got grilled about my love life by a group of governor’s wives.  
  
Amy: Where is the reception?  
  
Steve: Senator Cain’s townhouse.  
  
Amy: There is a John Singer Sargent hanging over the fireplace in the back parlour. Go stand next to it. Your dear hostess will come ask if you like it and you can spend the rest of the night talking about brush strokes.  
  
Amy: You’ll dazzle everyone with how amazing you are, and they will forever dance to your tune.  
  
Steve: How do you know what art they have?  
  
Amy: Who do you think I bought your Hooper from?  
  
Steve: I love you.  
  
Amy: Blow them away sweetheart. I’ll call you in the morning.  
  
Amy: And don’t let Mimi Kurtz talk you into anything. She talks a big game, but there is a reason her husband is the governor of Wisconsin and not a Supreme Court Justice.  
  
The painting was exactly where Amy had said it would be and standing next to it had the desired effect. Steve relaxed slightly and tried to enjoy the art talk. He couldn’t put his anxieties fully out of his head though. The first two weeks of February were packed with this sort of thing thanks to the release of the book. What was he going to do without Amy by his side to get him through it?  
  
S: My book publisher wants me to go on Sesame Street.  
  
A: Tell me you are doing a skit with super Grover. I might die at how cute the idea is.  
  
S: Join me for filming? I’m doing Sesame Street, Good Morning World, and The Late Show the same week.  
  
A: Masochist. I’ll be there.


	30. Brian Has A Confession

Warm sun poured over Amy’s face. Lounging in a hammock wasn’t a bad was to spend her first free weekend of the new year. Kenya was nice this time of year. She would have preferred New York, cold as it was. But Steve was in the field, and Ken had called to see if she wanted to visit.  
  
Her brother was posted here for a few weeks while they reviewed their security. It was a fairly easy posting and he seemed to be going a little stir crazy. Not that Amy blamed him. Being irritated by inactivity was something they shared.  
  
Amy had read him in on some of the things she was planning to help alleviate some of the boredom. Now they were monopolising the base’s outdoor lounge area drinking mint tea and batting around ideas for how to infiltrate a major international company.  
  
Amy’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out lazily. A text from Brian. Disappointing. She had hoped it was Steve.  
  
B: Are you in Nairobi?  
  
A: Yes.  
  
B: Come play spotter for me.  
  
He followed the text with an attached mission briefing.  
  
“What’s up?” Ken asked swinging his hammock.  
  
“Bradock. I have no idea how he found me. But he did.” Amy was a little distracted now. This mission was intriguing.  
  
“Going to help him out?” Ken asked. His voice slightly too innocent to be convincing.  
  
Amy narrowed her eyes. Brian was one of Ken’s best friends. They had been known to share more information than their superior officers approved of. “You told him didn’t you.”  
  
Ken shrugged. Knowing what Brian was up to may have been a contribution factor to his invitation. “Hey. I have been specifically ordered not to interfere with British operations on this. You have not.”  
  
“What happened to 'can't a guy just want to hang out with his sister'?” Amy flipped back in the hammock. Manipulated by her own baby brother. What was the world coming to?  
  
“I mean I’m sure a guy _can_ just want that.” Ken grinned. She was _so_ going to help Bri.  
  
Amy rolled to her feet. She needed to repack a little if she was going to do this. She frowned at her brother seriously. “I don’t like how many of my habits you are picking up.”  
  
“Say hi to Bri for me.” Ken said leaning back and closing his eyes.  
  
*****  
  
Amy picked her way through the arid scrub to the ridge top. Brian’s team had been patrolling near the base of the climb. His lieutenant, Dane, had waved her on easily when she gave them the counter sign.  
  
In dusty camo and face paint Brain was nearly invisible tucked into the rocks and bushes. Unless you knew what you were looking for. He would still be hard to spot if for most people. Amy found him as soon as she came over the rise. “Corrupting my brother? Really?”  
  
Brian didn’t look up from his scope. He was used to her habit of suddenly materialising within easy conversation distance. “His idea. I just went along with it. See anything on the way in.”  
  
“Your cover appears to be intact.” Amy shrugged out of the backpack and set her weapons with in easy each of her final position. Her gear included an assault riffle this time. There was a time and place for every weapon and when you were the one being ambushed was the right time for a gun.  
  
Brian grinned evilly up at her. She never could stay mad when she was doing something worthwhile. No matter how much you inconvenienced her dragging her into you mess. “Then get down here and confirm my maths.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes but didn’t lay down yet. Instead she scanned the horizon for threats. She hadn’t seen anything on her way up, but it was better to double check before she was flat on her stomach in the dirt. “Why couldn’t my brother come do this for you?”  
  
Brian cleared his throat self-consciously. “Technically my target is a civilian.”  
  
“Technically your target is a Skrull.” Amy said scanning the plane again. The wide flat bowl would make a good landing site for a large craft.  
  
“Skrull aren’t a real thing. Which is why I’m here.” Brain gestured to the sandy soil clinging to his fatigues.  
  
Amy lay down with her left shoulder resting on Brian’s right shoulder. It was closer than most snipers liked their spotter. They had been doing this for years though and had worked out a system. From here she could read his notes and look through both the free-standing scope and the one mounted directly on the sniper rifle. She could also read Brian’s notes scribbled in pencil in a small notebook tucked under his rifle’s bipod.  
  
Amy confirmed his calculations and sightings. There was no movement in the room he was trained on yet. The back bedroom wasn’t the obvious choice for a sniper. Their position was just under a mile away and the window was screened by trees. There was another ridge overlooking the front sitting room that was much closer and no trees blocking the kitchen. It was clear that Brian had chosen this spot in the hope that his target would be less wary crossing the open space.  
  
The both settled into a semi meditative waiting state.  
  
Eventually, Brian broke the silence. He didn’t really need her here for this. He could have used a spotter out of the ranks or just managed on his own. He wanted to talk to her. “I called Sam.”  
  
“And?” So that was why he had asked her to tag along. Brian believed in love at first kiss. If he was calling Sam, he was interested in more than a fling.  
  
“Dinner next month in New York.” Brian was nervous as a schoolgirl. He shouldn’t be. He had dated people before. He was good at dating. Clever at flirting. Generous and good at listening. Too nice according to the last girl he had taken out a few times. Although, he was pretty sure that her real problem had been the fact he hadn’t been able to tell her anything about his life when he was away from London. Secrecy was hard on a relationship if you weren’t prepared for it.  
  
“You like him?” Amy asked adjusting her scope. And he was going to Sam rather than bring Sam to him. Brian was smitten.  
  
Brian shifted his bipod. What could he say about Sam? “He's crazy. I’m pretty sure he has a death wish. Based on the little I know of him he will fight anyone any time. He regularly throws himself through the air at jet plane speeds wearing what is essentially a tee-shirt. The people he hangs out with are even worse.”  
  
Amy snorted. Like any of that would scare Brian off. “So you like him?”  
  
“That’s the man I’m going to marry.” Brian sighed. He was head over heels for Sam. “Target in sights.”  
  
Any snapped into work mode. She could plan ways to tease him about this later. “Wind speed 7.34km. No drop.”


	31. Captain America Goes On A Book Tour

Steve met Amy at the heilpad. Picking her up and spinning her around. God it was good to have her here. Everything seemed less daunting with her here. She was the right back up for this mission. He just had to finish briefing her. Which hopefully wouldn’t lead to her being irritated with him. “You know how I’m crazy in love with you?”  
  
Amy smoothed her hands over his chest. She should have found a way to see him before now. It had been far to long. Apparently long enough for him to get them into some sort of shenanigans based on his tone. “Hmm. I know a lot of things. I know that you hate when your socks aren’t folded. That you don’t consider a day really started until you get your morning run in. That navel oranges are your favourite fruit. What I don’t know is what you did that you feel the need to soften me up before telling me about it.”  
  
Steve blushed and ducked his head. She saw right through him. “… I kind of added a photo shoot and interview with Vanity Fair too.”  
  
Amy leaned back in his arms so she could see his face. He looked contrite at least. She fished his phone out of his pocket and flipped through his calendar. Along side the newspaper and magazine interviews, photo shoot, and TV appearances, he also had radio interviews, launch parties, book signings, and a handful of regular Avengers meetings. They had a very full week ahead of them. “You are a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”  
  
Steve winced. She was right it was a terrible schedule. They would be run off their feet and she would spend her entire visit watching him do things instead of actually spending time with him. “Yes. But it’s going to be fine because you are here to rescue me.”  
  
“Let’s get through the week before we start singing my praises.” She looked at the calendar again. She could make this week work. A driver, food delivered to wherever they were on a strict schedule, power of personality to get them out of parties at a reasonable time so he could get some rest.  
  
That was the problem with Steve he would give and give and run himself ragged if no one was there to look after him. People forgot because it took so much longer for it to show on the outside, but he had physical needs just like anyone else. He might need less sleep, but he did need it. He might be able to function for longer on reduced calories, but he needed to eat more than people thought.  
  
She almost wished Bucky were here to save him from himself and start crossing things off the list like he had done in the war. ‘no Steve you don’t need to talk to those people.’, 'they can hold that meeting without you.’, 'what is the point in having a team if you don’t let them do anything, we'll finish requisitions, you go take Peggy for tea.’ She was never that strict with him. She would make the schedule he had work if it killed her, as long as it didn’t kill _him_.  
  
But what about next time? She couldn’t always fly around the world to wrangle things, and Steve hated saying no to people when they had reasonable or noble request. That was why he would be reading to sick kids for twelve hours this week. Sixteen, she mental amended. He would want extra time to talk to the kids. He needed someone to screen calls and tell people he was too busy. Someone to say no to the publisher's brunch so he could spend extra time talking to the kids. She couldn’t. He needed a professional screener. “Have you considered getting a personal assistant.”  
  
*****  
  
Another morning. Another morning show. This was the third one this week. They all asked the same ten questions and gushed over her boy in the exact same way. The only excitement today was Steve bicep curling one of the hosts while reading from his book as one of the bits.  
  
They were going to have to hurry to get from here to their next appointment, a medical podcast recorded on the upper East side. Amy was going to have to hurry them. Steve would feel rude making the kind of blunt exit they would need to make if they were going to make it on time.  
  
Breakfast would be bagels and smoothies in the town car again. She really needed to figure out how to get more protein into him.  
  
Three more days. Three more days and Steve’s schedule slowed down enough that she could leave him to it. He still had a few events next week. Mostly signings and readings outside of New York. She would pester him throughout the week to make sure he was eating. Not that she had picked up any bad habits from Dai, but she worried. She was allowed to worry.  
  
Washington and Chicago on Monday and Tuesday. Seattle on Thursday. San Diego on Friday. Amy had arranged for her nieces to be part of the audience for that one. They would have fun and make for a good audience. Steve knew them. He had met them during her parents’ fourth of July picnic last year and they remembered him fondly as 'our friend the triceratops' for their time playing together. She hoped the friendly faces would help keep him relaxed.  
  
“God. He is so _cute._” Two of the makeup artists had come to stand next to Amy while they set up for the next segment. A blond with a pixie cut and a dark-skinned woman with box braids.  
  
“He's adorable.” Amy agreed with a small smile. They had no idea. Public Steve was sweet, but he had nothing on the real thing.  
  
“You’re his PA?” The blond leaned around her friend to get a better look at Amy.  
  
Amy turned to face them. The female host had a hand on Steve’s arm and was flirting with him hard. She didn’t need to watch the poor woman crash and burn. “Not exactly. He doesn’t have a personal assistant. I’m just a friend lending a hand for the week.”  
  
The other woman whipped around fast enough that her braids almost smacked her companion. “A friend? So, you've been out to the Avengers compound? Where they train and stuff?”  
  
The blond grabbed her friend’s arm. Weak kneed at the possibilities. “Oh my god. Can you imagine him getting out of the pool? All sweaty and glistening. Then he grabs you and pushes you up against a wall and just _takes_ you. That would be the best.”  
  
No. Amy thought to herself. The best was when he rolled over in the morning, kissed her softly, and told her how wonderful she was. Then he'd roll her on-top of him and they rock together, murmuring sweet nothings in each other’s ears and kissing like they had all the time in the world. That was the best. “I’ve been out there yeah.”  
  
The women we talking again. Something about which of the Avengers they would date. Amy largely tuned them out. Dai had just emailed her a final battle plan for their next mission and she needed to send him her notes as soon as possible if they were going to stay on schedule. Some days it felt like all she did was keep people on schedule.  
  
There was a stir amongst the crew. Amy’s eyes flashed up. Steve was wrapping up the last section of his interview. It was time for Amy to do her job and start prying people away from him so they could go. She turned a bright smile on the women still chatting next to her. “If you'll excuse me.”  
  
The audience cheered as Steve shook the host’s hand and jogged up the two stairs to the stage. He smiled and waved, taking his time to cross the stage to the chair.  
  
“Welcome to the show.” The host opened his arms and gestured around in greeting. The crowd roared their appreciation again.  
  
“Thanks for having me Stephen.” Steve settle into the blue chair casually. He was glad that Amy had insisted he wear the suit she had brought for him instead of the one the S.H.I.E.L.D. stylist had picked out. The red, white, and blue thing they had picked out would have made him feel like a clown. The grey suit and blue tie made him feel confident. He didn’t need to be Captain America tonight. Tonight, he needed to be Steve Rogers. He found Amy sitting in the front row and she gave him a subtle wink.  
  
“It’s an honour to have you.” The host leaned forward intently. “This. This is a first for you. You have never done a late-night interview before.”  
  
“That’s right, I haven’t. It’s mostly been news interviews before now. Boring stuff.” Steve laughed straightening his mug on the desk.  
  
Stephan made an overly serious face, bolstering the joke. “Aliens and robots. Hard to imagine how you even stay awake.”  
  
“That’s just my day job.” Steve lifted the mug in an ironic salute.  
“But you aren’t here to talk about your day job and the incredibly normal things that happen to you. You wrote a book. Let's talk about the book. This book.” The host held up the slim hard cover children’s book. On the cover a small blond boy clutched a bear in a blue jacket.  
  
“Wrote and illustrated.” Steve said. He was proud of how it had turned out. Ink and water colour drawings had a nice balance of classic and modern.  
  
“Now you writing a book isn’t a shock. I’m sure lots of people have asked you to write one in recent years.” The host said gesturing to the book on the desk.  
  
“Probably the second most asked question when people meet me. What’s it like saving the world? When are you going to write a book? Will you go out with me? I’m pretty sure that’s the order.” Steve joked ticking each question off on an invisible list.  
“You can’t blame people for wanting a book. Lots of exciting things have happened in your life. What made you want to write this book.” The host flipped up the book to show the cover to the camera and the audience again. “Because there is a lot less Nazi punching in this than people might expect.”  
  
“This wasn’t a problem I could punch. This was something that we all need to come together on, and I think it is important the people understand why. Especially children and parents since they are the ones who have to do the work.” The audience murmured sympathetically.  
  
Steve scanned the crowd. The book and charity were one of the most important fights of his life, and the one he was least prepared for. There was one person he wanted to be able focus on for the next bit of this interview. He found her just off center in the first row. Amy winked and delicately crossed her ankles. She believed in him. He could do this.  
  
The host believed in him too. He proved it with his gentle tone and welcoming body language. “You were vaccinated as a child?”  
  
“I was. My mother made sure I got every vaccine available. I’m positive they saved my life.” Steve leaned forward. He had practised this speech. Amy had drilled him on it all afternoon. He just had to do it like he had in the car. Inspiring speeches were what he was good at. “Back in my day it wasn’t unusual to line up around the block for vaccines. They were a modern miracle. Any parent with half a brain was doing everything they could to protect their kids from what these people are calling ‘childhood diseases. Kids I went to school with died of these diseases. When I came back, I expected to hear about all these new vaccines and all the lives they had saved.”  
  
“So finding out that some people didn’t trust vaccines and were…” Stephen steepled his fingers considering the proper wording. “Let’s say comprising their effectiveness must have been a shock.”  
Steve laughed at the memory. From this distance his reaction was funny. “You could say that. I kind of freaked out a little. I firmly believe in finding out the facts and making your own decisions. But the decisions you make are only as good as the information you have. Miss representing facts to manipulate people is just wrong. When I found out what was happening, I went off on a tear. The friend I was ranting at suggested that I write a children’s book, and here we are.”  
The host sat back in his chair again. “That’s amazing. We’re going to take a break. Can you stick around?”  
“I think I can find the time.” Steve smiled out at the audience who went crazy cheering.  
  
The corner of Amy’s mouth twitched up. Her boy had a gift when it came to sincerity. He also had the audience wrapped around his little finger.  
  
“When we come back, more about the man behind the shield and his new book. Stick around!” The host yelled over the crowd.  
  
The band played. The audience cheered. Steve found Amy again. She was repeating a series of small gestures. It took him a minute to figure out why. Hand signals. She was giving him the hand signal for steady and hold the course. She thought it was going well so far. He quickly signed back received and turned his attention back to the host who chatting with the band leader who had come over.  
  
*****  
  
“Welcome back. We are chatting with Steve Rogers. AKA Captain America. AKA the nicest man in the world.” The host’s warm manic energy was infective. Everyone clapped and cheered.  
  
“Well I don’t know about that.” Steve deflected. Shifting modestly in the blue chair.  
“Would the other Avengers disagree? What would your friends say? Are you guys friends?” The host leaned forward inviting confidences.  
  
“They are my best friends. They would tell you that I’m a couch hog who always forgets to empty the dishwasher.” Steve paused while the audience chuckled at that. “In my defence back in my day dishwashers were called maids and I definitely couldn’t afford one.”  
  
That brought on an ever louder peel of laughter. Even the host fell back in his chair laughing.  
  
“I met another friend of yours backstage. Is friend the right word. Can you tell us who you brought with you tonight?” Stephen asked leaning forward again.  
  
Steve was a little taken aback. He hadn’t expected the question. He looked to Amy. She gave a tiny shrug of assent. The ball was in his court. He could decide how to define the relationship at this moment. “Friend is a pretty good description. Doctor Winters is sort of my personal historian.”  
  
The host laughed. “You travel around with a historian!”  
  
“When you put it like that is sounds ridiculous and pretentious. Doctor Winters is responsible for the exhibit on me at the Smithsonian. We met while I was consulting for it and hit it off. She’s on sabbatical right now, so I convinced her to tag along. She is better at keeping me on schedule than some generals I could mention.” That sounded right. Nothing confirmed. But nothing that would make people second guess them when they did make their announcement.  
  
“I wish I had a pretty historian to drag along with me.” The host teased slapping the desk.  
  
Steve smiled softly at his girl. Amy was smiling back. He wished he could drag her along with him more often. She had made this week bearable. “Well it was her or Tony Stark and I wanted a chance to actually talk about my book.”  
  
“Right the book.” The host held it up again. “I have a lot of guests on with books, I don’t always get a chance to read them. Yours I did.”  
  
“I tried to make it a quick read. What else do people have time for these days?” Steve sipped his water as the crowd chuckled.  
  
“Your mother is in the book.” Stephen flipped through the book to a picture with a warm maternal woman in nurse’s scrubs. She had Steve’s bright blue eyes and a smile that lit up the room even in an illustration. “She is.” Steve smiled warmly. He thought he had captured his ma’s essence. “She’s the one who takes Stevie and his Bucky bear around the hospital to learn about immunisation and heard immunity.”  
  
“She seems lovely.” Stephen tapped the tapped the book emphatically.  
  
“She was the best mother I could have asked for.” Steve’s voice cracked the tiniest bit as he said it. His missed his ma. He wished she could see everything he had done. And how happy he was. She would love Amy. She would probably be picking out wedding china and knitting tiny booties 'just in case'. They weren’t quite there yet. A few more obstacles stood between them and that kind of happily ever after, but he hoped wherever she was his ma knew he wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without her.  
  
The audience awwed and Amy could practically hear the straight women and gay men swoon. Not that she could blame them. She wanted to have his babies when he said things like that too. A fact of which he was well aware given the sparkle in his when he found her in the audience this time. Probably a bad idea in the long run. But there was nothing to stop them from practising tonight.  
  
“Can you tell the folks at home, who might not know, because it’s been a while since they were produced, what exactly is a Bucky bear.” The host switched gears. Steve’s mind switched too. He could think about how far he had come later. Right now, he had a job to finish.  
  
“Bucky bears are teddy bears that they made back in the war. They were meant to go along with a bunch of the Captain America merchandise. They were based of my best friend and left-hand, Bucky Barns. The whole thing was that Bucky watched Cap’s back and Bucky Bear would watch your back.” He had known this question was coming. Had asked for it specifically. Steve had a surprise to go along with the story. The new bears had been Tony's idea. He had bust into his office ranting about sourcing manufacturers and profit margins and waving a vintage Bucky Bear above his head.  
  
It had taken Steve a minute to parse exactly what he was talking about, but when he had he had been overwhelmed by emotion. Tony had read the advanced reader copy of his book that Steve had left laying around the compound and immediately started trying to figure out how to make Bucky Bears. He had bought the copyright from their old manufacturer and found a factory to make them. There were even two versions now. ‘Classic’ in the ridiculous costume Bucky had worn in the WWII comics, and 'Modern' with a shiny arm and an updated take on the uniform Bucky had actually worn. Tony had put in the work so that Steve’s new pet project would be a success. They had hugged and Steve had just barely stopped himself from crying.  
  
“The bears were a huge hit back then,” Steve grinned. No tears today, just a warm buzz in his stomach. Now was the moment. He pulled a pair of bears out of his jacket. “and I’m excited to say that we are starting to make them again. All the proceeds will go to the Sarah Rogers Foundation for Childhood health. As will all the proceeds from the book.”  
  
There were cheers from the audience and his host made the bear Steve passed him dance along the desk playfully. Steve had passed him the modern bear. That was the one he really wanted to take off. If he could help the kids and convince people that Bucky wasn’t as scary as they thought he was, all the better.  
  
And just maybe seeing people with the bears would convince Bucky to come in faster. The girls said he had something to finish and then he would, but Bucky had hurt enough people. Steve would take his turn being protector if he would just come home.  
  
There were a few more questions about life with the Avengers and the process of writing a book. Steve hit all the right notes. He made the audience laugh. He had them sentimental moments. Basically, he was perfect. In the audience Amy couldn’t help the warm lump in her chest. This wasn’t pretty boy Captain America. This was her Steve. And he had made the world fall in love with him.  
  
Finally, the host offered his hand for Steve to shake again. “Thank you so much for coming to talk to us about it. The book is Little Stevie’s hospital adventure, available now check it out!” lights flashed. The camera zoomed in on the book.  
  
*****  
  
Amy had made it back to the dressing room before him. Steve wasn’t quite sure how, since she would have had to get through security and into the backstage area again. He had only had to get through the hallway and green room. He wasn’t surprised she had beaten him though obstacles just fell away for his girl.  
Steve closed the door behind him and let himself relax for the first time all night.  
  
Amy wrapped her arms around Steve’s neck. “You were great out there. Inspiring as always.”  
  
Steve bent his head for a long kiss. The interview had been another triumph. Another triumph he was convinced he wouldn’t have been able to pull off without Amy having his back. He drank her in now. She was the perfect partner. Brilliant at this part of his life. Fierce enough to stand up to everything else. “Let’s get dinner. We’re staying in the city. We don’t have an event tonight. Let me take you on a real date.”  
  
“What did you have in mind?” Amy was a little breathless from the power of his kiss. Not that she would let it show. A goddess was always poised. If there was a little shake in her voice… well Steve was the only one who would hear, and he wouldn’t betray her weakness.  
  
Steve tucked her hair behind her ears. Somewhere glamorous enough for this gorgeous creature. “I hear good things about tavern on the green.”  
  
Amy raised her eyebrows. An interesting choice. There was nothing private or low-key about tavern on the green. Steve didn’t love the public eye. And he had spent a lot of time in it already this week. If he had thought it through and was on board with the inevitable fallout, she would go along with it. She just wasn’t sure her had. “You want to take me to the tourist trap restaurant in the middle of Central Park, on a week when the media knows you are in town?”  
  
Steve winced. She had a point. If the paparazzi spotted him on a date, there was no way they would never be able to finish their meal in peace. “You want to pick the restaurant?”  
  
Amy considered. Somewhere with good solid food. Nothing too avant garde. Somewhere that Steve would feel comfortable. Somewhere that he wouldn’t have to be _on_ for the public and they could just enjoy themselves. “There is a private super club in midtown. Their prime rib is to die for.”  
  
“Then back to the tower for dessert?” Steve asked playfully. It had been amazing having her with him this week. He wanted to take his time and show her just how amazing.  
  
Amy’s answering kiss left him no doubt that dessert would be exactly what he hoped it would.


	32. What's The Difference Between A Realist And A Pessimist?

The shower was running when Steve let himself back in to his tower rooms. Dinner had been fantastic. Rich perfectly cooked beef. Roasted vegetables and potatoes glistening with butter. Amy’s ankle hooked around his the entire meal. He loved making her laugh. Loved it even more when she took his hand without thinking.  
  
Dessert back in his rooms had been even better than dinner. They had only just gotten the door closed before she had wrapped herself around him. They had left a trail of clothes from the door to the bedroom, with long stops against the wall in the hallway and on the couch along the way. This morning he had left her sleeping, dark hair spread across his pillow, to go for a run.  
  
He had his morning runs in New York down to a science. Out the West entrance of the tower. North past Saint Patrick’s Cathedral to central park. Along the West side of the park. Cut across the park and through the North Meadow. East to the river. South along the FDR. Appreciate the fact the old bastard got the East drive named after him. Stop and watch the sun come up over Williamsburg. Maybe do some push ups while it did. Jog past the Flat Iron Building. Turn North. Pop into Mama Lena's to pick up breakfast bagels and coffee. It was a good routine.  
  
It was a better routine when it ended with Amy in his shower. He grinned and shed his clothes in a hurry to join her. Bagels forgotten on the counter.  
  
He paused to survey the scene in the bathroom. Amy’s robe discarded on the floor, a luxurious heap of pale blue silk embroidered with plump red and white flowers. Fluffy white towels on the towel warmer. His amazing girl, half obscured by steam on the glass wall of the shower. Now this was the right way to start a day.  
  
Something out of place caught his eye.  
  
“Want to tell me why there is a dagger on my bathroom counter. I don’t think I left it there.” He asked stepping into the shower.  
  
Amy smiled and pulled him under the water. “It makes me feel better. I had a nightmare after you left this morning.” Steve was back. Why would she need as ridiculous a comfort item as a dagger when she had him?  
  
“A nightmare. Sweetheart, you should have called. I would have come back.” Steve shifted so the water wasn’t spraying on her face. He had been gone for hours. She shouldn’t have been alone. Not after nightmare that had shaken her like this. She put on a brave face, but he could see a glint of frenetic energy in her eyes. Something had her in fight or flight mode.  
  
“I’m fine. And you’re here now.” Amy smiled up at him. His worry was sweet. No one ever worried about her, except Dai. Everyone thought that her mask of confidence was her real face. But not Steve. He always saw her fragility and loved her for it.  
  
Steve stroked her wet hair back from her face. It was getting long again. A subtle reminder of how long she had been back in his life. She didn’t have nightmares often when they were together anymore, after the first few months they had tapered off to about once a week.  
  
He was the one who woke up more when they were together. If he managed to jerk himself out of a dream without waking her, he would pull her close, bury his face in her hair and try to fall asleep again with the smell of her perfume filling his head. If he woke her, she would massage the tension out of his hands and neck. Sometimes he needed to talk about it, she would listen quiet and attentive. Other times he wanted to forget about the horrible things that found him when he closed his eyes. Then she would whisper fairy tales he had never heard before, some of which he was sure we’re based on her family. “Want to tell me about it?”  
  
Amy’s eyes glazed. Icy wind whipped around her. The Winter Soldier towered over her. His eyes were empty again. _You aren’t worthy of his love._ He yanked her up by her hair. Holding her over a yawning void. _You are too imperfect to ever be worthy of anyone’s love_. Amy struggled trying to get away. This wasn’t Bucky. This was the weapon. She scrabbled uselessly as the hand holding her, nails scrapping harmlessly against the metal. A figure stepped out of the shadows. Jun’ichi. Jun’ichi was controlling the Winter Soldier. She hadn’t killed him. And now he had Bucky captive. She hadn’t managed to save him either. _You will spend eternity alone and unworthy._ The hand opened and she plummeted in a darkness devoid of stars.  
  
Amy shook her head and nuzzled into his firm chest. It felt so silly with the lights shining on them and his arms around her. Of course, Steve loved her. And she deserved to be loved however temporarily. And Steve would be gentle when the time came. He would never just cast her aside. “Just general anxieties. I’m better now that I’m awake.”  
  
Steve thought he could still see something shadowing her eyes. “You can always skip out of my morning and stay here.”  
  
“And miss seeing you on Sesame Street? Never.” Amy batted her eyes at him in mock shock. She didn’t want to be away from him right now. His presence was stabilising. With him she was safe. Alone who knew what her brain would come up with.  
  
Steve kissed her forehead. He would make sure to find time for her today. Like she had found this entire week for him. They were in this together, the good with the bad. God, he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her feel safe and loved.  
  
*****  
  
There was a skit with Super Grover. Steve in full Captain America uniform helped the blue monster and his friends figure out what to do about a bully. Amy tried not to laugh at the idea of _Steve_ telling people that they should avoid fights. It wasn’t easy when he made eye contact and waggled his eyebrows at her. He saw the irony too.  
  
Then Steve taught the kids to wash their hands and cough into their elbows when they got sick. That he got to wear casual clothes for. A plaid Button up shirt and khakis. Both of which were probably beyond recovery after being ‘sneezed’ on by Snuffleupagus.  
  
The whole episode was rounded out with a song about including everyone. Steve sat in the middle of a group of children and Muppets, everyone got a short verse about how they were different, but they could still be friends and do fun things. Between takes Steve talked softly with a little boy who had lost his arm in a car crash, telling him how his best friend had lost his arm in an accident too, and was still one of the strongest people Steve knew.  
  
It was all as adorable as Amy had known it would be. Steve was amazing with children. And it made her heart light to see him wearing that thousand-watt smile without even a hint of a shadow in his eyes. She had been right to come with him despite her nightmare. This had been what she needed. A reminder of why she was doing this. His happiness. That was what mattered.  
  
*****  
  
“Ready to go?” Amy asked straightening her earrings. One last party to get through and it was a big one. The formal gala launch and fundraiser. Amy was just grateful that Steve had talked them into passed appetisers and a silent auction instead or the six course meal and speeches that had been to original plan. Steve would have been miserable feigning interest through that many boring speakers.  
  
She wasn’t worried about his opening remarks. They were bound to be brilliant. And concise. Unlike some people Steve understood that fewer words often held more power. And she would stand proudly in the front row, beaming like the proud date she was.  
  
“Ready.” Steve hopped off the couch eyeing his girl. There was one good thing about these formal parties. Amy looked amazing in a cocktail dress. Tonight’s was a sheer blue grey, the colour of Bucky’s eyes, with a deep v neckline and a wide metal belt. He should be able to see her nipples through the thin fabric, but they were somehow demurely invisible. Steve chalked that up to Fredrick’s fondness for sheer fabrics, a fondness he appreciated given how well the full skirt showed off Amy’s legs without sacrificing the classic full silhouette. Dozens of layers pressed into sharp knife pleats fluttered prettily around her calves when she walked. No one wore tea length dresses anymore, which was a shame in Steve’s opinion. His girl was going to be the best-looking girl there by far, even after a hard start for the day.  
  
And it had been a hard start. He should have made an excuse to get out of his lunch meeting to be with her. He caught her wrist on the way by. He could always make up for lost time. “Wait, I’m forgetting something.”  
  
Steve grabbed the back of Amy’s head and crushed her against him in a long kiss. “Love you sweetheart.”  
  
Amy tried to glare up at him, but she knew there was no real ice in her look. She couldn’t even fake being angry when he was holding her like this. She settled for straightening his tie. Sky blue, just like his eyes. Her Steve had such pretty eyes. So kind.  
  
That tie and the perfect grey three-piece suit he had pared it with was why she had chosen the dress she had. He was dressed in bright blue and charcoal grey; she was somewhere in between. It was all about complimenting him. Tonight, she was as much an accessory as the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. Both were there to lend him prestige and credibility with this crowd, and to get him out before he turned into a pumpkin. “You’re going to make us late for your party.”  
  
*****  
  
The launch party for the book seemed to be going well. At least for everyone else. Steve was feeling slightly abandoned. He suspected Natasha had ducked out early, and Sam was texting in a corner. He could see Tony monopolising the center of the room. Amy had left Steve to grab some drinks and food while he talked to his publisher about a follow up book. Only his publisher had been called away and Steve had been cornered by one of the many socialites in attendance without backup.  
  
She was very pretty, but he couldn’t remember her name, and she kept moving closer to him as she spoke. She was close enough that he could feel her skirt against his legs now. Daisuki and Fredrick were around here somewhere, maybe they would rescue him.  
  
The socialite's smile was too sharp edged. Too predatory, with none of the playfulness that softened Amy's predatory looks. There was something uncomfortably threatening about this woman, for all her waif like build and the impression that a stiff breeze would carry her off. Steve decided that it was the eyes. The smile never reached them, but the calculations did.  
  
She tipped her head in was would probably be an enticing manner if Steve wasn’t so wary of her. “Patriot, tactician, and now writer and artist. Is there anything you aren’t good at?”  
  
A hand slipped around his forearm. “He’s also a pretty good singer and has a surprising gift for crossword puzzles.”  
  
Steve relaxed. Amy was back. He didn’t have to play mind games without backup.  
  
The socialite looked Amy up and down critically. Lingering on the place where Amy’s hand rested on Steve’s arm. She seemed surprised by the closeness and familiarity there. As if Amy's presence was surprising and out of place. “Oh. Are you….”  
  
Steve didn’t like that look. Amy was right where she belonged. He shifted her closer, setting his hand on the small of his back. “You’ll notice she didn’t mention my manners, which are apparently abominable. Doctor Ayame Winters. Ayame this is-“  
  
“Electra Natchios. We've met.” Amy’s voice was flat. She did not like that Electra was here. The woman attracted trouble better than a magnet. And she had definitely been sizing Steve up as a mark. Not that Amy was the jealous type, but Steve was here with her and he was more than an easy conquest. If anything happened to him it would be her the perpetrator answered too, and she wasn’t as _nice_ as her date.  
  
The smiles the women exchanged made the hair on Steve’s neck prickle. It was a little too much like standing between a pair of tanks. Both trying to stare each other down. Slowly skinning each other alive with eyes like daggers. One set fire, one set ice.  
  
Electra blinked first. Her eyes dipped and she shifted her clutch from under her arm. “If you'll excuse me. There was someone else I needed to talk to while I’m here.”  
  
The corner of Amy’s mouth twitched in triumph. “Please I’d hate to detain you.”  
  
Electra stalked away head held high. From the outside it wouldn’t look like a retreat. From where Steve was standing, he could feel the victory radiating off Amy. Whatever power they had been struggling for his girl had come out on top.  
  
Amy shook her head and turned to Steve. Her gaze thawing as she looked up at her bemused date. She slid a hand up his arm and smoothed his lapel. This was supposed to be Steve’s special night. If anyone ruined it, she would skin them alive. Her fingers itched for the knife concealed in her belt. She flexed her fingers to loosen her tense muscles. At very least she couldn’t be the one to start something. Steve squeezed the hand on her waist reassuringly.  
  
“I brought you some mini cheeseburgers. You need to eat.” Amy nodded at a high table tucked out of the way half behind a pillar. Two drinks and a plate full of sliders waited for them.  
  
“I hate these things.” Steve muttered picking up one of the tiny buns. He meant parties, not the diminutive foods. The food was usually good, and Amy had brought enough that he wouldn’t be frustrated by how little they were.  
  
Amy elbowed him. “Eat. Low blood sugar makes you irritable.”  
  
“So how do you know… Electra was it?” Steve asked between bites.  
  
“We move in some of the same circles. I was at Harvard the same time her ex boyfriend was in law school there. He was a friend, so we ended up at the same parties a lot.” Amy’s hackles were still up. She leaned against the edge of the table, watching the crowd for threats.  
  
“You don’t like her.” He observed, inspecting the next burger. This one had bacon.  
  
“She’s a bitch and not as good at what she does as she thinks she is.” And there was a reasonable chance Amy would have to kill her someday. Destinies were such a pain. Amy was trying not to hold herself too stiffly. Not every party Electra went to ended in a fight. Just a high percentage. And it wasn’t like she had a clean record on that front. And Steve could more than handle himself in a fight. Oh, but it would be nice if just once something could be easy.  
  
“Is there anyone you don’t know?” Steve muttered staring out of their nook at the crowd. He had hoped that at his book launch party people would want to talk about his book. They didn’t. They weren’t interested in him. They were only interested in Captain America. He just wanted to help the kids, not feel like a dancing monkey all over again.  
  
Amy smiled and relaxed a little. Steve didn’t need her adding to his stress tonight. If anything, he needed a laugh. “I’ve never been formally introduced to the president of Myanmar. Although we have run into each other unofficially.”  
  
Steve snorted and finished the last mini burger. He could imagine the kind of ‘unofficial’ run in his Amy would have with a South East Asian dictator.  
  
Steve set his hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer. Not too close, they were in public after all. But close enough that he could touch their foreheads together. He wasn’t alone this time. His girl would fight anyone who asked him to sing or wear tights. And they were making a difference. “You were right. The hamburgers helped.”  
  
“Good. A couple more hours and we can get out of here.” Amy promised linking their arms again. She wouldn’t be leaving his side for the rest of the night. Not if Electra was skulking around. The last thing they needed was to be separated if something did kick off… Maybe she would text Murdock and tell him to come pick up his girlfriend.  
  
*****  
  
Everyone thought he was good at parties. He wasn’t good at parties. Peggy and Bucky had need good at parties. He was good at standing next to someone smarter than he was and saying things like 'she's got you there' and 'I have to agree with Sargent Barnes'. If he’d had a nickel for every question he had side stepped and Peggy had answered for him, he would have spent his windfall on silk stockings for her as a thank you for getting him out of so many scrapes. Peggy and Bucky had had his back through all the pointless schmooze and ass kissing in the war. And now Amy. Beautiful competent Amy.  
  
She had been stunning in every outfit she had worn this week. Sharp and professional during the day. Graceful and elegant in the evenings. Right now, was probably his favourite look. Make up scrubbed off. Hair loose down her back. Fancy clothes gone, replaced with the silky little top and shorts she wore to sleep. Sprawled on the couch, legs in his lap, this was _his_ perfect girl. It had been a long week and she had been on her feet even more than he had. Running around keeping everyone on time. He should come up with a way to thank her.  
  
Maybe they could steal a couple of days away together. They could drive up the coast. He could have his girl all to himself. No sharing for two whole days… Three. They deserved a long weekend. No work. No stress, just the two of them. Walks on the beach at sunset. He knew she didn’t _like_ the bike, but maybe he could talk her into taking it with the promise that she could keep her arms around him all day.  
  
It was probably a pipe dream. They would get a few hours up the coast and mad scientist would take the entire European Parliament hostage or something.  
  
They could keep stealing these little moments though. These perfect fragments of calm. He wanted more of them. Wanted every moment he stole for himself to be one of them.  
  
“Stop that.” Amy cracked one eye open. He was looking at her like she was his world again. Not that she didn’t like it. But there was a level of certainty there that made her uncomfortable. She worried sometimes that he was forgetting that this would end. As long as Bucky was alive and able to make it back to Steve eventually their time together would run out.  
  
“Stop what?” Steve asked innocently sliding his hand up her leg.  
  
Amy shoved him in the chest with her foot. “You’re getting used to this. Stop it.”  
  
“Would it be so bad if I got used to it?” Steve asked catching her ankle and rubbing her calf. Her legs always cramped after a long day in heels.  
  
She was right. She was always right. He was used to it. He wanted what they had this week all the time. Wanted to keep her next to him so much that people stopped being surprised when his date for the night wasn’t Natasha. Ideally anytime she wasn’t next to him he wanted the conversation to consist primarily of 'where is Ayame? I’m not used to seeing you without her…'.  
  
“We have lives Steve. We can’t have this all the time.” The seriousness of her point was undermined by her groan of pleasure as he worked his thumbs into her tight muscles. Gods, it was hard to be strict when he did things like that.  
  
Steve loved her happy noises. Almost as much as he loved rolling over at night and finding her. “You tellin’ me you wouldn’t like coming home to me at the end of a mission.”  
  
Amy sat up so he could see her skeptical eyebrows. “Are you moving to Japan so I can?”  
  
Steve sighed. That was the problem all summed up. They both loved their work. Even when it was frustrating, he didn’t want to give it up, and he didn’t think he could ask her to give hers up either. “Do you have to leave in the morning?”  
  
She had been away too long. She had responsibilities. “The Bay of Bengal is calling. My team has a few things we need to take care of.”  
  
No mater how many times he told himself she was going to be fine, he still worried about her in the field. He knew she would be fine. She was brilliant at what she did. Fierce. Competent. A brilliant strategist. An absolute devil with a sword. She _would_ be fine. “You better stay safe.”  
  
Amy pulled his head to hers and pressed their foreheads together. It should have been an awkward position with her half in his lap, but his arm went around her automatically and made it incredibly comforting. That was her Steve. Always worrying about the people he loved.  
  
“I will.” And after that she would spend more energy trying to figure out the puzzle that was the Winter Soldier. Better to get Bucky back as quickly as possible. Before _she_ went and got used to this too.


	33. Valentines Day With Peggy

A: I was thinking.  
  
A: You should spend Valentine’s with Peggy.  
  
S: Why?  
  
A: Because you love her, and I hogged you for Christmas.  
  
A: …. Also I have a job that I would be way easier if I can do it that day instead of the next week….  
  
S: I’ll miss you.  
  
A: I’ll miss you too.  
  
A: Take care of your best girl.  
  
A: I’ll see you after.  
  
Steve slipped his phone back into his pocket. He would miss Amy, but Valentine’s day with Peggy sounded amazing. Maybe he could take her to the park. A picnic with his Peggy. They could watch the swans and talk about the old days.  
  
He could show her his art. He was almost finished her portrait.  
  
*****  
  
Steve chuckled warmly and smoothed his hand over the wood crate. He should have known that his girl wouldn’t completely abandon him for the romantic holiday. Vision had woken him up to tell him there was a delivery for him.  
  
He wondered if she was going to buy him a painting every Valentines day. He wasn’t sure he minded. She clearly put a lot of thought into what paintings he would like. The note that came with this one was softer than last years. Written with a brush on rice paper. Her scarlet seal at the bottom crisp and bright, accompanied by an equally bright red kiss.  
  
_Steve, light of my life.  
  
Your art collection is still terrible. You need more pieces that make you happy. Hope this little gateway to your home makes you smile. Think of me when you look at it, even though we are far apart.  
  
All my heart,  
  
Ayame.  
  
PS: Stop worrying about the cost._  
  
Inside the crate was a study for Georgia O’Keeffe’s Brooklyn Bridge. Sweeping lines and calming blues and greys. It was gorgeous. He fully intended to give it pride of place in his studio, opposite the Hooper she had given him last year.  
  
Steve: love it sweetheart  
  
Amy: Good. Take care of it. And yourself.  
  
*****  
  
“Happy Valentine’s Day beautiful.” Steve let himself into Peggy’s room with his arms full of flowers. He had ridden his bike down and borrowed a car from a friend of Sam’s who had gushed embarrassingly at the opportunity.  
  
“Lilies. Oh Steven. You shouldn’t have.” Peggy gushed reaching for the blooms.  
  
Steve smiled. It sounded like Peggy was having a good day. “They wouldn’t let me bring in the chocolates, but I thought I might spring you for the day. Maybe sneak some treats.”  
  
Peggy beamed up at him. Steve was pleased to see that she was already dressed in a soft sweater and slacks. He had called yesterday to tell her the plan. That she had remembered bit clearly enough to dress appropriately even before he arrived meant it was a very good day. This was exactly how he wanted to spend his Valentine’s day.  
  
*****  
  
Constitution Gardens were only a short drive from Peggy’s facility. From the parking lot he helped her into a wheelchair and walked them into the heart of the park. He had scouted earlier to find a bench that would get the afternoon sun and have an amazing view of the pond. Swans drifted gracefully across the water. With a thermos of tea and a pair of heart shaped sugar cookies tucked into Peggy’s bag. It was the perfect setting for a romantic date.  
  
Steve settled on the edge of the bench. Next to him Peggy smiled up at the sun and smoothed the blanket covering her knees. He rested his hand on the back of her chair and relaxed in the late winter light. A hint of warmth had started creeping into the air this far south. Not like the bitter damp that still clung to New York.  
  
Peggy watched him. Her Steve looked so much more relaxed the last few months. His visits had been more sporadic, but he was brighter when he did come. He laughed more easily, and she frequently caught a glint in his eye that she hadn’t seen since she had been the one to put it there. “Are you going to tell me about her?”  
  
Steve opened an eye surprised. “Tell you about who Pegs?”  
  
Peggy smacked his leg softly. Steven should know by now; she could read him like a book. Someone was warming his bed and taking some of the weight off his shoulders. Whoever it was Peggy could kiss them for how happy they made the love of her life. “Whoever it is that has been making you smile so much more the last few months. I presume it is a young lady of some description. Unless. Did you find James?”  
  
“No. No, we still don’t know where he is.” Steve blushed. He hadn’t told Peggy about what he was starting to think of as his Bucky revelation. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had guessed somehow. Clearly, he hadn’t been able to hide his other relationship from her. “Her name is Amy, and you've actually met her before. Ayame Winters, she interviewed you about our time together a few years ago.”  
  
Peggy nodded thoughtfully. Steve wondered if she actually remembered Amy or if she was just thinking about him seeing someone else. “She makes you happy?”  
  
“She’s… so much more than I could have hoped for Pegs. She the first girl to really see me for me since you did.” He curled his hand around Peggy’s. She had seen him like no one else had. She had believed in him like no one else. She was his pole star. As long as she kept believing in him, he could do anything.  
  
Peggy looked down at their hands curled in her lap. His was exactly the same as she remembered it. Strong and firm. Somehow, hers had gotten old though. Steve deserved someone whose hands would grow old with his. And here he was wasting him Valentine’s Day with her. “She doesn’t mind you spending today with me?”  
  
Steve smiled. “She insisted. You’re my best girl Peggy. I wouldn’t even think about stepping out with someone who wasn’t okay with that. And I think Amy and I are a little past stepping out. I would have asked her to marry me by now back in our day.”  
  
“Well then you had better take care of this girl then Steven. I will be very disappointed if I hear you aren’t treating her right.” Peggy squeezed his hand. Her Steve finally had a life of his own. Not the one she would have pictured for him, but from where she was sitting it looked like happy one.  
  
“I’d never do anything to disappoint you doll.” Steve kissed her cheek. She wanted him to look after Amy, he could look after Amy.  
  
*****  
  
Cold wind plucked at the cloth covering Amy’s head and face, tugging her towards the precipice a few feet ahead of her. Distantly she could hear waves crashing against the walls of the fjord. Hydra always had gone in for cliff side bases. Their architects seemed to think they were more secure. A false belief in Amy’s experience. People never seemed to think three dimensionally when they were guarding things. Their Norway stronghold was no different. They had patrols in the forest near the main entrance and sensors around the underwater entrance four hundred feet below her. But nothing at the top of the cliff inside the parameter.  
  
It had been child’s play to parachute in avoiding the patrols. High altitude low open and a gentle landing at the edge of the pines. Between the new moon and the scuttling clouds her decent could easily be written off as a shadow. Now she was waiting for a second shadow to flutter down so they could start. She waited patiently, one headphone in listening to the internal chatter coming from the base. She had already anchored the climbing equipment and made sure that the extra goodies in her gear bag wouldn’t be damaged when she moved.  
  
Behind her the night shifted, a cloud moving across the stars. Amy pulled her headphone from her ear and listened. No not a cloud. Natasha.  
  
The assassin emerged from the woods stuffing her parachute into its bag as she walked.  
  
Amy raised an eyebrow. The gesture barely visible in the dark. “Your late.”  
  
“Your boyfriend couldn’t decide what to wear for his date.” Nat rolled her eyes. Steve had held her up for the better part of an hour worrying about what sweater he should wear. He had been incredibly nervous that he had made the wrong choice. “Apparently Peggy confuses him with her husband when he wears the navy one, but the burgundy doesn’t bring out his eyes. He went with the green one.”  
  
“Her husband? Really? I don’t see it.” Amy said tucking her phone back into her bag.  
  
Natasha shook her head. She didn’t see it either. Peggy’s husband had been big like Steve, but with his dark hair and soft spokenness she didn’t see any similarities. They could debate the point later though. Right now, they were supposed to be finding and killing one of the men who had ordered some of the Winter Soldiers worst atrocities. “Is he still in there?”  
  
“Right where we thought he’s be. He has the subcommanders in with him now.” Amy said unraveling the rope she was carrying.  
  
Natasha tied it off quickly. “Any sign of my _Otets_?”  
  
“Nothing so far.” Amy tested the anchor for their repelling rope and made quick check of both harnesses.  
  
Natasha did her own check and nodded. Amy’s preferred rope was about half the thickness of a standard climbing rope and far more supple than the wires Natasha normally carried. The fine rope was secure, and all their buckles were laying flat.  
  
Natasha looked at the steep drop. She was thrilled that Hydra had continued their obsession with building in cliffs. They were so easy to break into. “After you.”  
  
The wind tugged at them as they slid down the ropes just barely slower than a free fall. Nat settled into her compartmentalised mission brain. Details sprang out from the rocks. Sounds were louder, she catalogued and discarded irrelevant background noises. The part of her mind not identifying threats and opportunities was glad Amy was the one with her tonight. She didn’t need to play nice with Aims as her partner. She could be as vicious as she needed to be without feeling bad.  
  
She would rather spend Valentine’s day with her best friend than cooped up in the compound avoiding all the romance. Wanda and Vision were having a romantic comedy marathon, just as friends according to them, Natasha believed that about as far as she could throw Steve. Rhody would be humming and baking cookies, he might not be in a relationship, but he was a romantic at heart. Steve was head over heels for his two girls and ecstatic at the idea of taking Peggy for a Valentine’s picnic. Sam had a new beau that he was doing a terrible job of keeping secret.  
  
Her only other option to escape was babysitting for Clint so he could take Luara out. Maybe it was selfish but Nat really didn’t want to wave the love birds off with a smile this year. Not when this time last year she had been so close to finding some kind of happiness and this year the only guy who had gotten stuck in her head in sixty years was MIA.  
  
They stopped suspended outside the commander’s window. He had several minions in with him. None of them were looking out the window, between the darkness outside and then bright lights within they were unlikely to notice any movement beyond the glass. A quick silent exchange and the women agreed to wait until he was alone. It was always more intimidating when someone dropped dead alone in a room that no one could get into. Although in Nat's experience there were very few rooms that _no one_ could get into.  
  
The meeting seemed to be in no danger of ending any time soon. Nat set a bug against the glass so they could listen in and dropped a few more feet.  
  
Leaning back at ease in her harness Natasha regarded her friend. “Is it weird?”  
  
“Dangling from a cliff by a rope that by all accounts isn’t thick enough to support me.” Amy flipped upside down and stretched her limbs to keep her circulation going. The weight of her gear lifted off her shoulders and pressed at her hip strap. They had to be ready to move when the time came. “Nah. I’m pretty used to it by now.”  
  
Nat rolled her eyes. Trust Amy to deliberately miss understand a question. “Your guy being in love with someone else. You don’t strike me as someone who likes to share.”  
  
“I might surprise you there.” Amy snorted. Silly western puritanical views on relationships. Her rope spun slowly, turning her towards the open valley. In the grand scheme of things if really was nothing. Time would move on and all of this would fade. “Very few members of my maternal family ever wanted or expected to be the only love in their man’s life. Most of them expected that state to be reciprocal, which I don’t, mostly because I don’t think I can find someone who can compete with him. His being in love with other people doesn’t really affect his being in love with me. And we probably always had an expiration date anyway.”  
  
Nat did a double take. Steve’s date was unlikely to put an end date on their relationship, especially if Amy didn’t have a problem with it. And Amy had said other _people_, plural. So Peggy, and at least one other person. “We might be talking about different things.”  
  
Amy froze, rotating slowly on her rope. “What are you talking about?”  
  
“Steve being on a date with Peggy, on Valentine’s day. A date which you set up.” Nat said very slowly. What else was there to talk about? Was Steve in love with someone else? Who else could Steve be in love with?  
  
Amy’s stomach flipped. “Oh that.” Nat didn’t know. Steve hadn’t told her. Had Steve told anyone else? Steve would always love Peggy, Amy had come to terms with that. Bucky though. Steve had loved him for so long, and Amy didn’t think she would win if he had to choose between the two of them.  
  
Nat narrowed her eyes. Running through the list of potential ties for Cap in her mind. Steve didn’t have a lot of women in his life. Wanda was too young. Pepper was taken. Maria was unabashedly a lesbian. The idea of him being in love with her was laughable, she would know for one, he wouldn’t gush about Amy if he was for another. So who? “What were you talking about?”  
  
Amy clamped down on her panic. She couldn’t have this conversation. Not if Steve hadn’t come out to Nat yet. She wished he would though. Nat might just understand her predicament. Being surrounded by people in uncomplicated relationships was awful when you weren’t.  
  
She was saved by the sound of people filing out of the room and the door locking. “Time to move.”  
  
Nat stored this conversation away to come back to later and readied herself for entry.  
  
*****  
  
The Window popped out easily with the light application of a class cutter and a suction cup. Silently the women eased themselves over the sharp edge and dropped to the floor. Amy set down the bag of supplies she had brought and took a place behind and to Natasha’s left.  
  
The commander was seated in front of a fire, his back to the window. He didn’t move as a breeze from the missing glass stirred the flames. “I’ve been expecting you _Zimniy Soldat_.”  
  
Natasha and Amy exchange an amused look. Oh, these cocky men. They were never prepared for the threat to come from a woman.  
  
“Not quite.” Natasha leaned against the desk casually. Was that the blueprints to the updated tesseract weapons? She would definitely be photographing some of these documents before they left.  
  
“We are here for the same reason he would be thought.” Amy said side stepping towards the door.  
  
“Well not exactly the same.” Natasha said pulling a small case out of her pocket.  
  
“Speak for yourself. I haven’t flayed someone alive in absolute ages.” Amy grumbled flipping her knife in her hand. She wouldn’t be doing anything that intense tonight either. They had a much cleaner method  
  
The commander fell for the ploy charging straight for Amy and the faint hope offered by the door.  
  
Nat’s poison dart caught him in the neck before he made it more than three steps. In another four he was on the ground sputtering for air. Thirty seconds later he was dead.  
  
Nat poked him with her toe. Everything had gone exactly to plan. Pity she wouldn’t have minded a fight. It had been months and there was still no sign of Bruce. She was glad Amy was here to do this sort of thing with her rather than let her wallow on what was supposed to be one of the most romantic nights of the year. She turned her attention to the desk and snapped photos of everything that looked interesting.  
  
Amy unwrapped the now slightly rumpled bouquet out of her bag. The flowers that were such a good idea in the city were more of an inconvenience out here. She folded the commander’s hand around the stems. He would look almost peaceful if it wasn’t for the bloodshot eyes and foam around his mouth.  
  
Nat clapped her on the shoulder and stepped backwards out the window. Amy followed her stepping into the thin air.  
  
They set the window back in place and securing it with adhesive strips. People didn’t notice things. Unless someone measured the exact dimensions of the window's glass before and after they were unlikely to spot the change of less than an inch. To the average observer the commander had died without a mark on him and flowers had appeared in a room with only one heavily guarded entrance.  
  
Nat hoped her _Otets_ liked his Valentine’s gift.  
  
*****  
  
Amy had only been in bed for twenty minutes when her phone started ringing. She groaned but clawed her way to the side of the mattress and managed to answer the call before it went to voicemail. It could be important. The light screen greeted her with Steve’s smiling face. Yes. That was important.  
  
“Hey.” She let the syllable slide out soft and sleep laden. Steve was calling her non-emergency line. She could let him see her vulnerable side. She wasn’t so much a goddess that she didn’t need to sleep. No matter what the rumours said. And Steve made he want to purr and cuddle up to sleep more than anyone ever had.  
  
“Did I wake you up?” Steve’s reply was warm honey in her ears.  
  
“Only a little.” Amy reassured him. She would go without sleep to talk to him any day. The day after a successful mission was even better. He was the icing on her cake.  
  
“I wanted to hear your voice.” He sounded tired but not unhappy.  
  
Amy purred and stretched. She had missed him too. “We’ll don’t ask me to sing you a Lullaby. I like that you think I’m good at everything.”  
  
“I could sing one for you.” Steve teased.  
  
Amy smiled and rolled onto her back. He wasn’t a bad singer, but she was more interested in his life than in music. “Why don’t you tell me how your date was?”  
  
“We played chess in the park. Peggy fell asleep on my shoulder while we were watching the swans. She let me kiss her goodbye.” Amy’s heart grew warm listing to him talk about Peggy. He loved her so much. She knew it hurt him when Peggy forgot who he was. Or confused him with her husband. Or forgot that her husband was dead, and she was allowed to kiss him. Her boy had had a good day. She couldn’t ask for anything more.  
  
The conversation faded. They stayed on the line listening to each other breathing.  
  
Eventually Steve broke the silence, sounding wistful and a little broken hearted. “Would we have been happy do ya think?”  
  
“You would have been the happiest. Peggy had this little craftsman style house. You would have had a lovely garden. Full of good food to share with your friends and neighbours. Two dogs, big golden retrievers. And the back bedroom converted into a studio for you. You’d paint cityscapes and still-lifes. You wouldn’t need to try and capture people the way you do now. You would have been so perfectly happy.” She doesn’t mention that Peggy had all that. The house, the garden, the dogs, it had been a photography studio not painting, but it made little difference in the grand scheme. Her husband had preferred a different medium to Steve, although they were both artists. And none at all when it came to reassuring Steve.  
  
“I should let you get to bed.” He sounded regretful. He probably thought he shouldn’t have brought it up. She had been the one to ask about his date. She wouldn’t have done that if she couldn’t handle the fallout. She was here for him. No matter what.  
  
Amy made herself smile again. He would be able to hear it in her voice. He loved so much. All she could do was make loving her as painless as possible and help ease the burden of his other loves. “I’ll see you in my dreams sweetheart.”  
  
“And in real life as soon as I can.” Steve promised before hanging up.


	34. Steve Has A Serious Conversation

Steve let Sam and Rhody go early from training so he could do a few runs on the obstacle course with the holographic assailants turned up to his speed. He had a lot of energy to burn off. It had been a good week. He had gotten to have great conversations with both his girls. A date with Peggy for Valentines day. A phone call with Amy that had eased all his worries. Neither of which he would have gotten back in the day. Long distance relationships were significantly better in this century.  
  
Sam was apparently having a good morning too. He was leaning against the counter. A steaming mug of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. Something on that phone had him smiling ear to ear.  
  
“You’re happy today. Did I not make you run far enough today?” Steve asked pushing past him to the fridge. There should be orange juice. That was another good thing about this century. There was always fresh fruit and juice.  
  
“You made me run plenty far.” Sam laughed dropping his phone into the pocket of his sweet pants. “It’s just a text from a friend.” From Brian. They had been messaging a lot lately. Brian was smart and sweet and understood when he couldn’t text back for days at a time. He understood team dynamics. And he was great a flirting.  
  
“Anyone I know?” Steve asked curiously. Normally Sam was up front with who he was texting. Frequently going so far as to recap whole conversations. Steve knew more about Sam’s sister’s dating life than about some of the people he lived with. Lately though he had been very reserved about some of his conversations. Conversations that made him awfully smiley.  
  
“I don’t think you’ve met.” Sam said distractedly. Brain had texted again. This one was leaning in a distinctly flirtatious direction. Damn, Sam wished he could take the boy on an actual date. Maybe he could talk to Natasha about doing some work in London. Was Brain even in London right now? He should figure that out before tipping his hand with Nat. Assuming Nat didn’t already know and hadn’t assembled a full dossier on Brian. It was up in the air if she would approve because Bri was one of Amy’s friends, or disapprove because Amy would have told her everything.  
  
*****  
  
Steve: I think Sam has a secret girlfriend.  
  
Amy: I can say with some confidence that Sam does not have a secret girlfriend.  
  
Steve: He's texting someone and won’t say who.  
  
Steve: His Instagram is suddenly full of gym selfies.  
  
Steve: What other explanation is there?  
  
Amy: I’m going to need you to think real hard on this one babe.  
  
Steve: He and Natasha are running a long con honey pot on someone?  
  
Amy: … No.  
  
Steve: Well it’s that or he has a secret boyfriend and Sam’s not gay.  
  
Steve: Is Sam gay?  
  
Steve: Sam would tell me if he was gay.  
  
Amy: You told him you’re in love with a guy?  
  
Steve: That’s different.  
  
Steve: Sam still hasn’t forgiven Bucky for the whole almost killing us thing.  
  
Amy: There is that.  
  
Amy: Make sure Nat is there when you tell him. The video of him smacking you up the back of the head and calling you an idiot is exactly the kind of laugh I need to stop me from strangling the Sultan of Brunei.  
  
Steve: I never said I was going to tell him.  
  
Amy: Of course you didn’t.  
  
Steve: Should I tell Nat first?  
  
Amy: What makes you think she doesn’t already know?  
  
*****  
  
Big confessions like this called for a neutral location. Not that this bar was a strictly neutral location. This bar was in the same place as the dance hall Bucky used to drag him too. Not that Nat and Sam would know that. The only things that had survived this long were the red brick wall and street sign outside. The stage for the band was gone. The dancing had changed from a swirling pool to a tight throbbing mass. The beer had gotten a lot better. There was still something Steve like about the idea of having this conversation in the same place he had spent so many good nights with Bucky.  
  
He had lured Sam and Nat her by promising to buy. Nat had selected a booth in the back corner. She always liked being able to see the entire room.  
  
Steve set drinks he was carrying on the table with exaggerated care. Two bottles of a local micro brew and a florescent cocktail that he was pretty sure Natasha had only asked for because ordering it had made him blush. Who named these things? He was pretty sure the cute little blonde behind the bar hadn’t recognised him, otherwise she would either have fainted or he would be trending on twitter by now.  
  
Sam swiped his beer off the table and took a long drink. “Alright Rogers. Time to spill. What do you want to talk to us about?”  
  
“What makes you think I want to talk about something.” Steve said innocently. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. It wasn’t a big deal. He was in love with a guy. That guy was his best friend…. His best friend the amnesiac assassin that had tried to kill them and was currently taking out high ranking Hydra members on his own… Okay maybe it was a big deal.  
  
Sam leaned on one elbow and started ticking off Steve’s tells on his fingers. “You asked us to get drinks with you despite the fact you hate leaving the compound. You insisted on paying. You’ve re-tucked your shirt four times in the ten minutes we've been here. Am I missing anything?”  
  
Nat glowed with pride. Sam was getting better at reading people every day. Not that Steve was hard to read. He was practically fidgeting out of his seat. “He’s also tapping out the howling commando sign off on the table, but I don’t expect you to recognise morse code off the top of your head.”  
  
“Glad I’m such an open book.” Steve grumbled into his beer.  
  
Nat raised her eyebrows. If he wanted this to be just drinks, if could be just drinks. He was too anxious for that to be the entire plan, but Nat was nothing if not flexible. If she played her cards right maybe she could even drag him onto the dancefloor. That would be fun. She would send a video to Aims. Aims would accuse her of abusing her boyfriend. It would be a fun night.  
  
Steve took a deep breath. He just had to spit it out. They were his best friends. They would support him no matter what.  
  
“The thing is- and Amy knows about all of this by the way….” Steve trailed off, unsure how to start. Amy was right. Amy was always right. He trusted Sam with his life. He could trust him with this too. He wondered if it would be easier if it wasn’t Bucky. Probably. I good portion of his anxiety was how Sam would react to him being in love with the same guy who had tried to kill them and Natasha’s reaction to him being in love with her father figure.  
  
Sam set down his drink carefully. Steve was incredibly nervous. Whatever it was it had to be big. “Rogers are you asking me to be your best man?”  
  
Natasha snorted into her drink. Clawing for a napkin as the alcohol burned her nose. The idea of the two of them was ridiculous. There was no way either of them would give up their jobs, and Nat didn’t think Steve was ready to be a member of a royal family. “Pretty sure that 'I'm getting married' is the opposite of what he’s trying to say.”  
  
Steve swivelled his head to face her. “You knew?”  
  
“No. I told you my secret because I thought you were a completely impartial third-party outsider. Get your head out of your ass Rogers.” She chose not to mention Amy slip on Valentine’s day. Or that she had told him her secret because she thought he loved James Barnes as a brother not romantically. Once she had really thought about it, it hadn’t taken her long to figure out who other than Peggy Steve could be in love with. Really it made perfect sense. Why else would Steve refuse to fight someone who was trying to stop him from saving the world? Love would also explain how her _Otets_ had snapped himself out of his brainwashing. Well, love and some cognitive re-calibration.  
  
“He really did teach you to speak English.” Steve smiled at her. Now that he knew she was Bucky’s adoptive daughter he saw the mannerisms she had picked up from him. Her sense of humour was one of them. It was no wonder he liked her.  
  
“_Da_.” Nat replied in dry Russian.  
  
Steve smiled shyly at her. She knew and she hadn’t called him on it. She must approve at least a little. “Amy said you probably knew.”  
  
Natasha lowered her eyelashes. She had perfected her ‘mysterious and all knowing’ look years ago. It was nice to be able to break it out for a happy reason. “She is a wise woman. Very observant. I’ve always liked that about her.”  
  
Sam cleared his throat. “Can I point out that _I_ still don’t know. If this isn’t about you and Amy taking it to the next level, what is this about?”  
  
“I’m kinda, sorta…” He just had to spit it out. Sam would understand. “…in love with Bucky.”  
  
Sam froze, slowly he lowered his bottle back to the table. “How many Buckys do you know? Because you can’t be talking about the guy who tried to kill you, multiple times, wrecked my car, and shot two out of three people at this table.”  
  
“Some of us more than once.” Natasha said sipping her drink. Just because she didn’t disapprove didn’t mean she wasn’t going to tease Steve about this. It was good to have conformation of her theory. Even if it did raise more questions than it answered when it came to Amy’s motivations. Not threatened by Peggy she could understand. Steve’s Bucky though… “But congratulations on finally admitting you have feelings for him. How long ago did you figure it out?”  
  
“Like eight months.” Steve said guiltily. Would they be hurt that he had kept the revelation from them for so long?  
  
Nat paused in the middle of a sip. She had assumed it was a several years long thing. Had he really not realised when they were in the war together? Her _Otets_ hadn’t been allowed to see any propaganda that featured and images of Captain America because of how it affected him. Even Steve’s name had given him a headache. He had definitely been in love before his capture. Maybe he didn’t consciously know either. “Wow. For someone with perfect recall, you are spectacularly unobservant.”  
  
Sam glared at Natasha. Why was she so calm and amused by all this? And what did Steve mean ‘taught you English’? Did Nat know the Winter Soldier? Were they both crazy? “You’re just okay with the fact that he is in love with someone who tried to murder him.”  
  
“Assassinate.” Natasha corrected automatically. People who hadn’t lived the life so often forgot the difference. And when it came to people you knew trying to kill you it was an important difference. “And if I cut people out of my life just because they tried to kill me once or twice, I’d have way fewer friends.”  
  
“He did pull me out of the river.” Steve leapt to Bucky’s defence. It hadn’t really been if fault. Bucky would never hurt him if he had the choice.  
  
Sam banged his head against the table repeatedly. They were both crazy. He was best friends with crazy people. “I’m going to need a stronger drink.”  
  
Steve jumped to his feet. “Jack on the rocks. Coming up.”  
  
Sam downed half of the whiskey as soon as it was in his hand. “How does your girl feel about all this? I assume you’re still together if you figured this out months ago.”  
  
Steve rolled his drink between his hands. Amy. It was hard to shake the sense of guilt surrounded her part in all of this, no matter how supportive she was. He loved her. She deserved someone who could love her completely. He couldn’t give her up though. “She’s been great about everything. It’s complicated, obviously, but I love her too so we’re making it work.”  
  
“Aims is very pragmatic, I don’t see her dropping you over a little thing like this.” Natasha surveyed the bar. Someone in the crowd had plucked on a mission thread in her mind.  
  
Sam blinked. “A little thing like Steve being in love with another man?” This was not a little thing. This was a relationship ending thing for most people. He had enough faith in Amy to think that she would be able to handle Steve being bi. She had never blinked about Brian after all. But this wasn’t just him being bi. This was him being bi and in love with his best friend. A man he would literally die for.  
  
“I mean he was already also in love with another woman.” Nat said narrowing her eyes and scanning the crowd for anomalies. She really didn’t see what Sam’s issue was. One person or two it didn’t really make a difference. Steve and Amy were clearly communicating on the matter. Amy had been upfront with not caring as long as he loved her. And Steve definitely loved her. As long as they had talked about what would happen when Bucky entered the equation in real life, everything would be fine.  
  
“White people.” Sam rubbed his forehead. Once someone shot you, you weren’t supposed to be in love with them anymore. Let alone start the relationship. “Ya'll are crazy. You know that, right?”  
  
“Amy would resent that characterisation.” Nat leaned back with a smirk. She had narrowed down what had caught her eye to the group at the far end of the bar.  
  
“As crazy?” Sam raised an eyebrow sceptically. Amy was absolutely crazy, even Nat couldn’t deny that.  
  
“As white. Trust me she does not get this particular brand of crazy from her dad’s side.” There they were. The Reilly brothers. Well wasn’t that fortuitous. They played jump rope with the line between the Irish Mob and the IRA, and Natasha happened to need some information from the IRA.  
  
Sam reached across the table and squeezed Steve’s arm. He might not approve of the target, but he appreciated the trust involved in telling him. “Thanks for telling me man.”  
  
Steve returned the affectionate gesture. Sam was a great friend. “Thanks for thinking the most upsetting part is he tried to kill me.”  
  
“More than once.” Sam said each word slowly. He wasn’t entirely sure Steve really grasped the concept. ‘Bucky’ had nearly succeeded at killing Steve on between two and three occasions depending on how you counted shooting Furry through Steve’s wall.  
  
“Amy thought you’d hit me.” Steve chuckled. This had gone better than he had hoped.  
  
“Haven’t ruled it out.” Sam tipped his glass back. Hoping there were a few more drops of whiskey in it to help him not scream at either of them.  
  
Nat patted Sam on the shoulder as she stood. He might need a little time to really understand why Steve was in love with Barnes. Speaking of Barnes, she needed to have a little conversation with the IRA about who had been using their safe-house in Belfast.  
  
*****  
  
N: He's in Ireland. Or he was a week ago.  
  
A: O'Brian?  
  
N: Sounds like it.  
  
N: I haven’t found a police report for him.  
  
A: Let me make a call. I know someone who can check with MI6.  
  
*****  
  
Amy’s non-emergency phone rang on her desk and she flipped it up to her ear without looking. It was probably Nat following up on her Mi6 contact. She would have to disappoint her. Brian hadn’t gotten back to her yet. “Go for Winter's”  
  
“Are you really okay with it?” Sam said without preamble. There had been several more glasses of Jack before Steve had driven them home. After Nat had returned to the table, with bruised knuckles, she and Steve had traded stories about Bucky in the field. The more Steve talked the more affection was obvious in his eyes.  
  
Alone in his rooms and more than a little tipsy Sam had felt the need to call Amy. He had known Amy before Steve. Mostly by reputation, but still. She had been very strict about her 'unattached' rule. Of course, the goddess was strict about a lot of things that Amy seemed less worried about. Like not spending the night. Changes brought about by dating Steve not withstanding, he didn’t see Amy being entirely okay with taking second place.  
  
“Hi Sam! Me? Oh, I’m just trying to decide if the cost benefit ratio of a bullet proof glass hamster ball is worth it. On the one hand they are prohibitively expensive and decrease mobility. On the other I could trust Kiki to get out of arm’s reach without getting herself shot.” Kiki had wandered off on again on her last hospital visit. Amy had barely taken out the assassin that had been trying to sneak _in_ the exit Kiki was sneaking _out_. This was supposed to be a cushy job. And it would be if her best friend wasn’t incredibly reckless.  
  
“Passive aggressive isn’t a great look on you.” Sam said. He needed to know. If Steve was wrong. If he was hurting Amy. If he found out later that he had hurt her like that. Steve would never forgive himself.  
  
Amy pushed her chair back and spun around. She really had no idea why Sam was calling her. Was she okay with what? At least it was a good distraction. “Have you met me?”  
  
Sam's brain was too fuzzy for witty comebacks. He just wanted answers. “Are you really okay with Steve being in love with someone else?”  
  
“Yes.” Amy said simply. It wasn’t all that complicated. It wasn’t like he was sleeping with both of them at the same time. She would end it before he had to make the choice. It would be easier on him if it was her choice. And they were good together for now. They complimented each other. Not that Sam needed to know any of her long-term plans. All he needed to know was that she and Steve were good. “It doesn’t change how he feels about me. Monogamy’s never really been my jam anyway.”  
  
“Did you tell him about me and Brian?” The more sober part of Sam’s mind winced. Drunk Sam had no tact. Drunk Sam still hadn’t told Steve that he had a boyfriend. Let alone that that boyfriend used to fuck Steve’s current girlfriend.  
  
“Is there anything _to_ tell?” Amy asked curiously. Brian was obviously falling, but she wasn’t sure if Sam liked him liked or was just flirting. Sam sounded like he might be tipsy enough to give something away.  
  
“I like him. More than I’ve liked anyone in a long time…but.” Sam was just drunk enough for a confession. It had been a long time since he had been with anyone seriously. Not since before his first deployment. He hadn’t wanted to leave anyone behind to worry about him. Any partner he had would be completely in the dark about where he was and what he was doing most of the time. He couldn’t even call them reliably. His family was bad enough, and it wasn’t like he could have married whoever it was to at least give them that security. It had felt easier to be alone.  
  
Most of those same worries were still there. Some of them were worse. Being an Avenger wasn’t exactly safe.  
  
“We all have 'buts' Sam. And for what it’s worth I think he likes you more than he's liked anyone in a long time too.” Amy understood. Dai had spent a lot of time and energy setting up trusts and insurance policies for Fredrick in case anything happened to him. And Sam didn’t have the kind of support system Dai did.  
  
“_Did_ you tell Steve?” Sam asked again. It wasn’t that he was hiding who he was. He just didn’t think the whole world needed to know what went on in his bedroom.  
  
“I have a very strict rule about not telling other people’s secrets.” Amy replied calmly. She knew a lot of secrets. She didn’t share them unless she had to. Certainly not her friends’ secrets.  
  
“Did you tell Brian to call me?” Sam blurted out. He needed to know. Was Brian actually interested in him or was his attention just because Amy’s meddling. Damn, Sam was kind of gone for the pretty sniper. And not just because of his wicked mouth and even wickeder sense of humour. Maybe he would call him after he hung up with Amy.  
  
Amy smiled. He was smitten. Brian was smitten. They were going to be so cute together. And Sam would die when he saw Brian’s car collection. “Didn’t have to.”


	35. A Rescue Mission

This wasn’t how he wanted to make this call. He had wanted the next time he saw Amy to be over wine and candles. Preferably curled on the floor in front of his couch. A safe house with a disaster on his hands was the opposite of that in every imaginable way. She hadn’t answered on her regular phone. But that was why she had given him the second phone wasn’t it? She had promised she would always come if he called her on it. God, he hoped that was true. She answered on the second ring. “I need you.”  
  
“What’s going on?” Amy’s voice was calm. There was some disturbance in the background, it was familiar, but Steve couldn’t quite place it. Maybe she was in transit, it could be a shipyard, there was a lot of clanging.  
  
Steve took a deep breath and laid out the facts. He could always lay out the facts. Regardless of the fact his heart felt like it was going to explode and all he wanted to do was bash heads together until the problem went way. That wouldn’t help. He knew it wouldn’t help. What would help was getting Amy up to speed. “We’re in Saudi Arabia. Sam is in trouble and I can’t get a hold of Nat.”  
  
“Give me two hours.” Calm and to the point. That was his girl. His girl. Who was on the way. Who would fix everything. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They could handle this. Sam would be alright.  
  
*****  
  
Amy slid her phone back into her jacket. “I have to go. Can you handle this?”  
  
Dai looked between the recently restrained prisoners and his cousin. Amy was a perfectionist and a control freak. She didn’t like to leave before a job was done. “I’m sure we can….”  
  
“Good.” Amy leaned over the commander of the captured men. “This will all be much easier on you if you just tell my people what they want to know. Don’t make me come back.”  
  
“Call when you’re done.” Amy tapped her fist against Dai’s in farewell and stalked away.  
  
She stepped neatly over another body on her way out of the warehouse. She trusted her team. They wouldn’t even break a sweat over midlevel arms traffickers like this. Steve needed her. She didn’t feel guilty about leaving. She didn’t feel very guilty about leaving.  
  
*****  
  
A beat-up Toyota pulled up to the safe house 75 minutes later. Amy hopped out of the car, pulling two bags with her. The larger one clacked with sound of weapons knocking against each other. The smaller one bulged oddly like someone had stuffed too many things into the small space. Steve yanked open the door and pulled her inside before she had a chance to knock.  
  
Steve crushed her into tight hug. She was here. Everything would be fine. “They grabbed him when he was coming out of the meet. I have no idea where they took him.”  
  
Amy cupped his head, bringing his forehead down to hers. “Calm, _Mon Ours_. You need to stay calm. Walk me through it from the beginning.”  
  
Steve leaned heavily against the wall. There wasn’t much to tell. Lack of information was one of the things that had him so worried. He ran Amy through a basic overview of the mission brief then onto the details that had come through Sam’s communicator before he had been grabbed. It was supposed to be easy. Sam just had to trade cash for a USB drive full of information. There hadn’t been any signs that things weren’t going to plan during the meeting, but between leaving the restaurant and reuniting with Steve at the safe house something had happened and now Sam wasn’t responding.  
  
Amy nodded thoughtfully as he spoke. It seemed like a straightforward rescue. She had done more this less.  
  
“I’ve got this babe. Meet you at the rendezvoused point in about six hours.” She handed him her larger bag with a quick peck on the cheek. Shrugging the smaller one on to her shoulder, she started on a flurry of texts as she got back into the ratty car she had arrived in.  
  
*****  
  
The room Sam found himself in was completely incongruous. strapped to a table like he was, he had pretty good lines of sight on everything other than the door. The space would have been more at home in dingy basement instead of halfway up the world’s tallest building. The amazing view over the city didn’t make him feel any better about the table full of power tools or the plastic sheeting covering the floor and all the walls other than the window.  
  
So far no one had decided what they were going to do with him. They had been arguing about it until about five minutes ago when a disturbance in the hallway distracted them. Now he was alone and desperately trying not to think too hard about what was going to happen when his captors got back.  
  
There was a scrapping noise behind him. Sam braced himself. They were back.  
  
His attempt at steeling himself was interrupted buy movement out of the corner of his eye. The noise wasn’t just coming from behind him. It was coming from behind and above. Someone in the ceiling and had levered up one of the tiles.  
  
Amy dropped out of the hole and landed next to the table. “Hi Sammy. Making new friends?”  
  
She made quickly work of his restraints. Unlocking and the re-closing them around nothing. It was always surprising what small details took people from 'the prisoner escaped, search the building' to 'they just vanished into thin air'. The Fox Demon of Nippon had a reputation to maintain after all.  
  
“Something like that.” Sam groan and rubbed his wrists. He had never been so relieved to see someone.  
  
Amy helped him off the table and gave him a cursory inspection for injuries. He seemed unscathed aside from puncture mark on his neck. They must have drugged him. Whatever they had given him, he was awake now. She would just have to keep him moving. “You should be good. Let’s go.”  
  
Sam looked at the door nervously. Whatever distraction she had caused, there had been a lot of guys before. He wasn’t really up to a fight right now. “Where are we going?”  
  
“Up.” Amy cupped her hands and nodded back at the ceiling.  
  
Well it was better than a fight. Sam scrabbled into the vent.  
  
*****  
  
They crawled through a series of tunnels and vents, scaled an elevator shaft that gave _Sam_ vertigo and dropped back down through a different ceiling. Through one of the vents they passed Sam was pretty sure he spotted several of his captors, unconscious and hog tied.  
  
The room they dropped into was light by a single naked bulb. A quick look around showed Sam shelves full of cleaning supplies and racks of mops and brooms. This was a broom closet. Sam looked around a second time. Large sink. Big bottle of floor polish. Half full bucket of soapy water. This was definitely a broom closet. The only thing out of place was the pile of supplies next to the sink.  
  
Finally, able to breath Sam considered how drastically his situation had changed in the last ten minutes. If Amy hadn’t shown up when she did, he was pretty sure he would be down a few fingernails by now. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that she had just happened to be skulking around the ceiling of the room he been imprisoned in. “How did you-“  
  
Amy shrugged and started undoing her arm wraps. “Steve called, and I tracked your communicator as far as the building after that it was obvious. Put this on.” The white robe caught Sam in the face.  
  
He looked from the mound of fabric in his arms to the other items waiting on the counter. A duffle bag, a scarf for Amy’s hair, and sandals for Sam, and looking shockingly out of place off to one side two sizable cups full of iced coffee. “Did you-“  
  
“Show up fifteen minutes late with Starbucks. I absolutely did.” Amy kept her voice soothing as she buttoned her abaya. The encompassing garment designed to protect the provided modesty of these women, might be cumbersome compared to her normal gear, but it also made it ridiculously easy to walk around heavily armed. A mixed blessing really. The scarf covering her hair and neck also meant that she hardly needed a disguise beyond the change of clothes and a big pair of sunglasses. “In my defence if I’d been fifteen minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid a fire fight. And Steve get so tense when you give him a casualty count. Irrational, but then, he is a much better person than I am.”  
  
When Sam turned back Amy was fully made up, long black coat and veil, giant peach coloured sunglasses. Almost none of her skin was showing, but she still radiated cocky confidence.  
  
She flipped the duffle bag inside out disguising it as a giant handbag. Her infiltration gear and Sam’s old clothes all went inside. She was grateful that Sam didn’t have his wings with him, their bulk would have been hard to disguise. Amy adjusted the cloth covering his head, so it fell more naturally. “Remember. We aren’t in a hurry. To quote my brother 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast.’ We are just going to walk out like we belonged her all along.” She slipped the bag over her arm and grabbed the larger of the two coffee cups. “Ready?”  
  
Sam took a deep breath and picked up his own cup. Amy’s brother was a SEAL. Sam had worked with the SEALs for years. He could act like a SEAL. “As I'll ever be.”  
  
*****  
  
The janitor’s closet opened onto a service corridor behind the observation deck. Early in the afternoon the area was swarmed with tourists. It was child’s play for Sam and Amy to slip into the crowed unnoticed. A careful circuit of the deck to make sure no one’s suspicions had been aroused and Amy steered them to the bank of elevators that dominated the room.  
  
Amy settled her features into a mask of bored disinterest as they got into line. The elevator ride itself was only about a minute. The wait for space in a car took significantly longer at this time of day. With any luck anyone looking would write the tension in Sam’s shoulders off as frustration at the line. That was what to drinks were for, to help him disguise his real feelings with something less suspicious and give him something innocuous to do while they waited.  
  
Bumping her shoulder against his in the crowded elevator got him to breath again. Sam seemed a little more relaxed as they crossed the main lobby. Amy attributed that to the visible exits. She could see him holding back though, he was clearly tempted to bolt for the door. He managed to hold himself together all the way to the valet stand though.  
  
“Now very calmly, hand the valet the ticket in your pocket.” Amy muttered so only Sam could hear. Her phones timer buzzed. The distraction was over. They would be on the way back to the room that used to hold their captive now. Five minutes to search the floor and the ones above and below. Just enough time for their car to come around.  
  
Sam did a double take when the valet finally returned, driving a metallic yellow sports car. Weren’t they supposed to be blending in? That wasn’t just some luxury car. That was the kind of car teenage Sam had wet dreams about. The kind of car he still drooled over when Tony showed up in one. The kind of car Tony never let him touch because 'that is a finely tuned piece of equipment and you'll just try to fly it bird boy'. “Amy. That’s a Lamborghini Aventador.”  
  
Amy blinked at him. Had he received no undercover training at all? Surely Nat had taught him when _not_ to have conversations on a mission. “I am aware. You can drive stick. I don’t see the problem.”  
  
“You’re letting me drive?” Sam's eyes couldn’t get any wider if he tried. The last time he had been this excited it had involved flying. Sam like to go _fast_, in the air was better than on the ground, but he would not say no to putting this beauty through her paces regardless of the circumstances. Amy should have led with this if she had really wanted him to be relaxed on the way down the tower.  
  
Amy slurped loudly from her nearly empty drink. The sound combined with a derisive look served to convey exactly how she felt about Sam wasting time when they should be leaving. “It is illegal for me to drive here. So yes. Until we get out of the city you will be driving.”  
  
“Best rescue ever.” Sam suppressed a grin. He didn’t skip around the car. Almost, but not quite. If anyone asked, he had played this perfectly cool. And if Amy said anything different, he would blame it on the endorphins.  
  
Amy dropped into the passenger seat. Not that she was pleased that he was driving. She hated letting other people drive her. Dai said it was a problem, Amy maintained that as long as she knew she was a control freak it wasn’t really an issue. “Shut up and drive. They know you got out and it’s only a matter of time before they get a perimeter set up.”  
  
Sam accelerated into traffic, dodging between the other cars. Amy ignored him for a moment checking her phone for official and unofficial alerts. A text from Dai letting her know that her team had all made it back to Japan safely and that he would start on reports. Nothing about her actions here. They were in the clear so far.  
  
She glanced at their surroundings. Time to head for safety. “Left up ahead. Then the second exit at the round about.”  
  
They might be in the clear so far but there was one small problem. Sam was driving like a bat out of hell. Traffic rules might not be what there were at home but if they kept this up, they would be _noticed_. “Slow down. Just drive like everyone else is driving.”  
  
Same took his eyes off the road long enough to give her a startled look, before snapping them back to pavement in front of them and rapidly shifting lanes to get around a slow-moving truck. “Shouldn’t we- I don’t know- _hurry_ a little, while we make our get away?”  
  
Amy looked at him over her sunglasses. These military boys, with their direct approach and their lack of subtlety. It was a miracle Nat hadn’t strangled any of them. “Sam your first instinct upon escaping is to run. Which means _their_ first instinct when looking for someone who has escaped, is to look for someone who is running.”  
  
“So, we don’t run….” Sam decelerated gently. Falling in with the flow of traffic.  
  
Amy smiled. He understood. “If I’d had time, I would have arranged for us to run some errands, maybe grab a bite to eat. As it is Steve is sitting on a boulder looking morose and waiting for us.” Amy settled in her seat. In her pocket her phone buzzed. She glanced at it casually. Just a notification that they had closed off several blocks around the Burj Khalifa looking for 'political dissidents'. She let her smirk return. They were well past that now.  
  
Sam was good about following her directions for the rest of the drive.  
  
They switched cars at a small service station on the edge of town. The Lamborghini went into a garage and they drove away in the much more practical and low-profile Toyota. This time with Amy driving.


	36. Decompression Is Important

The rendezvoused location was a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. Steve was passing back and forth restlessly as they pulled onto the shoulder. Sam launched himself out of the car before it had come to a complete stop. Steve was off his rock and running as soon as he saw Sam.  
  
Amy moved at a more sedate pace. Tucking the keys into the sun visor before she climbed out. A contact would be along to collect the car in an hour or so. She wasn’t stressed like they were. She knew here team was fine. An update text from Dai and a quick check of their trackers had told her as much.  
  
“Are you alright?” Steve asked grabbing Sam by the shoulders and looking him over.  
  
Sam smiled at him shakily. “Yeah your girl got me out no problem.”  
  
“Speaking of. I also grabbed this.” Amy pulled a portable hard drive out of her flowing robes.  
  
“Why do we never have to bail you out of things?” Sam asked slumping against the side of the car. His adrenaline had run out and all he really wanted to do was sit very still for a few hours. Maybe call Brian, but then he would have to tell Brian what had happened.  
  
“I generally don’t get myself into things I can’t get out of.” Amy grinned her foxy grin. There were very few things she couldn’t get out of.  
  
A softer smile formed at her eyes. No, that wasn’t strictly true. She was being cocky. She wouldn’t have saved Kiki or been able to stop the attack on Tokyo without help. Steve had been there for her, without question or expectation, and she adored him for it. “And Steve did. Last year.”  
  
“Not very well.” Steve rubbed her neck affectionately, pulling her closer. She had almost died. She had been missing for months stranded in a hostile country. He should have gone back for her.  
  
“It was a bit bigger of a problem. And you got Kiki and the civilians out.” Amy nuzzled into his chest. He shouldn’t feel guilty. He had done everything he could. She had made her choice hard as it had been.  
  
Steve held her against him. She was safe. He hadn’t really lost her. They had all the time in the world.  
  
Sam made a gagging noise.  
  
Steve chuckled and kissed Amy’s forehead softly. Sam was right. They shouldn’t be indulging in PDAs until they were fully out of the woods. He loosened his grip so Amy could step away.  
  
“Not that you too are sickeningly adorable, as in love as you are. But we are still standing in the middle of the fucking dessert, and I made some people I love a promise that I would not die in this particular fucking dessert. So how we getting out of here?” Sam asked. His next mission had better be something fun. Something where he got to use his wings. Preferably something where he both had to use his wings and got to stay in one of the better hotels in London. Or just in London period, he was pretty sure he had a place to stay there.  
  
“Oh, that’s easy.” Amy said with a smirk. Her phone had buzzed five minutes ago. Letting her know that her ride was en route and would arrive at the rendezvous around the same time she did.  
  
A whirring noise slowly growing louder drew their attention to the east. A black hawk helicopter emerged over the horizon. Absolutely perfect timing.  
  
“Hey Kit. Heard my baby sister might need a ride.” A navy SEAL hung out of the helicopter; a large dog pressed against his hip whole-body wagging.  
  
Matt and his team jumped free as the skids touched the ground. Matt freeing Cupcake from her retrained so the dog could launch herself at his sister. Amy knelt letting the excited dog lick her face as she scratched her sides and muttered praise for a good girl.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Steve pulled Amy’s eldest brother into a bone crushing hug.  
  
Matt laughed and returned the larger man’s slap on the back. “We were in the area.”  
  
“You going to be in trouble for this?” Sam asked exchanging fist bumps and high fives with the rest of the team that had disgorged from the chopper.  
  
“We were just over the border anyway.” Sam stumbled to a halt. That voice belonged to someone he had not been expecting to see here. Brian grinned out from under a desert camo helmet, his rifle slug across his back. “Hello fly boy. Surprised to see me?”  
  
“You could say that.” Sam pulled him into a longer hug, letting his hand linger on the back of Brian’s neck.  
  
“Are we going? It’s hot and I want to change.” Amy called from the open door, abaya unbuttoned, scarf pushed back.  
  
“I don’t blame you goddess. That isn’t really your style.” Brian punched Sam in the shoulder and nodded at the helicopter. “Come on fly boy. If you’re good, I'll help you wash your back when we get back to base.” Brian winked and helped Sam into the seat next to his.  
  
“What is going on there.” Steve asked, nodding at the two men now sitting with their heads together.  
  
“You’d have to ask Sam.” Amy smiled knowingly at the two of them. Sam had a hand on Brian’s thigh. Brian had his lips against Sam’s ear whispering what she suspected was a chastisement for worrying him like this.  
  
Steve shook his head, it wasn’t really his business, whatever it was. They were both consenting adults. Sam could handle himself. He would tell Steve when he was ready.  
  
Right now, he was going to enjoy the little bit of breathing room he had been given. He kissed the side of Amy’s head. His amazing girl, always there when he needed her. He pulled her close to his side, legs dangling out of the helicopter. Wind whipping her scarf and plucking at their clothes. Today had gone better than he could have hoped.  
  
*****  
  
Sunset found Sam, Steve and their rescuers seated around a fire pit, secure inside the walls of a US military base. They had showered and changed into borrowed clothes. Sam looked comfortable in shower shoes and a pair of tan combat pants. Steve noted curiously that the tee-shirt Sam had changed into bore the winged Excalibur of the SAS rather than the SEAL trident he had ended up with. His combat pants were also a darker colour and he had opted for wearing his own shoes with the laces undone and the tongues pulled out, so they flapped comfortably.  
  
Amy curled in Steve’s lap, basking in the combined warmth of the flames and his arms. She had changed into the rugged navy pants she favoured for missions and a soft tee-shirt with ‘If you don’t know who I am, you don’t have clearance to know who I am’ emblazoned on the chest.  
  
Brain threw himself into the chair between Steve and Sam. Lounging sideways across it, feet over one arm. His own Excalibur emblazoned shirt rucking up to show a few inches of hard abs. He kicked Amy’s foot. “Chatter out of Dubai still has the entire Burj Khalifa in and uproar. What did you use for a distraction anyway?”  
  
Amy returned his kick. “I heard something got lose on the spa level.”  
  
Brian raised an eyebrow curiously. “Snakes?”  
  
Amy accepted a bottle of beer from brother as he passed out a new round. “I don’t recall saying snakes.”  
  
There was more laughter and conversation. They told war stories and debated the fallout from current actions. Cupcake flitted between her place a Matt's feet and a spot where Amy could rub her ears. Steve got involved in a heated baseball debate with CJ, who it turned out was a huge Padres fan and there for Steve’s arch nemesis when it came to America’s pass time. He had a lot of those since the Dogers had moved to LA. That was alright. Steve was ready for fight, no matter the arena.  
  
Eventually the fire started to burn out and everyone stated to yawn.  
  
“Come on Sammy, let’s turn in for the night.” Brian offered Sam his hand. Sam clasped his wrist and let Brian pull him to his feet. “I want to make sure you get the kind of rest you deserve after the day you’ve had.”  
  
Sam blushed and tried to cover his embarrassment with a cough.  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. Brian was a ridiculous flirt. “Don’t do anything I would do.”  
  
“Damn it Aims.” Brian threw his hand in the air in mock exasperation. Already leading Sam towards one of the semi permanent tents designated for officers. “I'll overthrow the government of a small Central American government if I want to!”  
  
Steve was not prepared for the chorus of ‘Amy’s never even been to Belize.’ From the SEAL's around the fire. This was not the first time they had referenced Amy and Belize. Something had definitely happened, and it had definitely turned into an inside joke. He laughed and pulled her closer. “Do I even want to know?”  
  
Amy smirked up at him. “Probably not.”  
  
Steve shook his head ran a hand along Amy’s calf, thinking they should slip away themselves. Whatever had happened in Central America he could find out about it later.  
  
He was in the process of shifting Amy so he could carry her off to the bunk he had been shown earlier when her phone rang.  
  
Amy barely glanced at the screen as she rolled out of Steve’s lap. There was a very short list of people it could be. “Hang I have to take this, it’s Dai.”  
  
“How did it go?” She closed her eyes and listened. Her team hadn’t had any problems mopping up. Everyone was safely back in Katsura. They hadn’t found any sign of Lan. She was running out of leads.  
  
Steve didn’t like the worried look growing on Amy’s face. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” Amy twisted so she could rest her head against his chest. She was trying very hard not to feel guilty about leaving her team. She shouldn’t feel guilty.  
  
If she left now, she could be back before they finished their debrief.  
  
Her team was the best. There was nothing they couldn’t handle. They didn’t need her to hold their hands through everything. She cupped her hand around the back of Steve’s neck tenderly. She was trying to do a better job of carving out time for herself. “Tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow.”


	37. An Invitation To The Rest Of Amy's Life

For a supposedly important meeting that they absolutely needed Captain America to be there for, not a lot of progress was being made. And any that had hadn’t been him. Steve understood the need to make decisions before an actual emergency took place. What he didn’t understand was all the posturing that went along with it. The local government had to be in control. If the disaster was bad enough to need the Avengers no one was in control. What if there was a predetermined counsel that could be mobilised? Did they want to establish a council for every possible state and country possibility? Wasn’t that a poor use of resources? How would they decide who got aid first if the disaster affected more than one country? Could the Avengers guarantee they wouldn’t favour developed nations?  
  
So far, this meeting had been round after round of those same points. Just like the last one and the one before. Steve wished Tony was here to chew them all out for being stubborn. He was better at that part than Steve was. He’d left almost as soon as they’d gotten back from their last mission, something about Pepper and a promise. Leaving Steve to stare down the grumbling essentially alone. Everything would work out. It was just getting to that stage that was tedious.  
  
Steve looked down at his phone on the table. Amy was calling. She never called, especially in the middle of the day. He called her first thing in the morning, and they texted throughout the day, but Amy didn’t call unless it was urgent. “Excuse me gentlemen. I have to take this.” He nodded and patted a couple of people on the shoulder on his way out of the conference room. He answered the call as soon as the door clicked behind him. “Hey sweetheart. Something wrong?”  
  
“No. Nothing’s wrong. Is now a bad time?” Amy’s sweet voice made Steve’s heart sing. He could hear birds in the background, it sounded like she was safely in Katsura. He shouldn’t worry about her. It was hard when they were apart for weeks at a time. Their jobs were dangerous, it was all to easy to imagine her getting into trouble while he was stuck smiling at senators.  
  
He paced away from the meeting trying to fix a serious look on his face. He would much rather talk to Amy about anything than go back to playing the responsible adult in the room. “If I hang up, I have to go back to a meeting on attributing command during a natural disaster. I would much rather talk to you.”  
  
“That sounds important.” Amy sounded distracted. Like she was fidgeting on the other end of the line.  
  
“It is. It was also settled four meetings ago, now we just keep going over the same points with no real change.” Steve could picture her. Sitting in her office with the outside walls pushed aside to let in the spring air. A knife walking around her fingers in an intricate pattern. His girl liked to fidget when something was on her mind.  
  
He ducked into an empty room. There was something fun about playing hooky to talk to his girlfriend. It reminded him that he hadn’t always been the golden boy figure head people expected. He had been a rebellious punk back in the day, and the people who really loved him, loved that part of him the most. “Even if nothing is wrong you don’t normally call in the middle of the day just to chat. What’s up?”  
  
“Its silly. I have a sort of family thing next month. Kind of a… Celebration… after everything. It would mean a lot to me if you could come. I’m going to invite Nat too.... It’s... It’s kind of important and I want you with me.” She was searching for words, unsure of what to say. She was nervous. He tried to think if had had ever seen her nervous before.  
  
“I’ll be there.” Steve said without hesitation.  
  
“You didn’t even ask when it was.” Amy said meekly.  
  
Steve smiled into the phone. She was never nervous, and she never asked for things. She wanted him at whatever this was. He would move mountains to be there for her. “It’s important to you. I'll be there.”  
  
*****  
  
The Singapore skyline glittered. Late as it was the city still bustled. The light reflected into the penthouse apartment, illuminating everything with an eerie multicoloured back-light. In the dim glow Amy settled herself deeper into the corner of the luxurious modernist sofa. From here she had a comfortable view of the private elevator in the onyx panelled entrance hall. It was a luxurious apartment. It was also a rental. Leased through two holding companies and ultimately in the name of a girlfriend. Her target must have thought it would be secure.  
  
She would never understand how some people came to that conclusion. By passing the cameras and sensors had been child’s play. All the ‘secure’ locks and sound proofing meant were no one would hear and interrupt what was about to happen.  
  
Which was good. Amy didn’t think she could handle this last one being interrupted. Just one more. she was so close to being free of Jun'ichi’s influence.  
  
She had been waiting in the dark for the better part of an hour. Her target wasn’t here yet. It didn’t matter. She would wait here all night. Longer if she had to. This was the best lead she’d had in months. She had spent the better part of a week on the ground getting as much conformation as she could. Now she was relying on her target sticking to his pattern, always a risk, but one she was willing to take. If it meant she would be free of the Yakuza, she would sit perfectly still in the dark until the building crumbled around her.  
  
Finally, the elevator slid open. A Japanese man in his early thirties stepped out. He tossed his jacket in the direction of the closet and flipped on the light. His eyes fell on Amy seated on his couch and he froze.  
  
“Hello Lan. You've been avoiding me.” Amy wore her perfect geisha face. Smooth. Impassive. Unreadable.  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man pressed the elevator call button frantically behind his back.  
  
Amy ignored him. She had set a lock on the system. As soon as the doors had closed the entire elevator had shut everything had locked in place. He wasn’t leaving anytime soon, and no one would be interrupting them. They had all night to talk if they needed it. Although Amy didn’t think they would.  
  
“You used me. And abused me. You turned me into the kind of killer I swore I would never be. You came perilously close to breaking me. But I got away. It took me far longer than it should have but I did.” Amy drummed her fingers against the arm of the couch. She was not going to be that kind of killer tonight either if she could help it. Which meant keeping herself under control, no matter how much she wanted to slowly and methodically flay him alive.  
  
She let a little bit of her aggression creep into her voice. “I didn’t deal with you when I should have. I left the parasite that is your family to continue to feed on my country. It’s time I rectified that little oversight.”  
  
He didn’t respond just pressed against the wall shaking slightly. Good. He should be afraid. Amy was sure her eyes were glowing. She could feel her power straining against her skin begging to be allowed out. Then she could make sure he was really afraid.  
  
She wasn’t going to. His natural fear would be enough. Dai would tell her off for enjoying that as much as she would, let alone causing more. It wasn’t worth the nausea in the morning. Even if it would feel good in the moment. The ice she did allow to edge her words felt good on its own. “How do you think I should rectify it Lan?”  
  
“You could let me live.” Lan squeaked edging away from the door. “I know what you can do. I could make sure we don’t do anything you really disapprove of. It would be good wouldn’t it? To have the head of the Yakuza in your pocket?”  
  
“No. I think not. Too much of a risk of backsliding. Better to burn out the infection. But I’m mixing my metaphors.” Amy crossed her ankles delicately. He was going for the gun he had stashed in the decorative vase. As if she hadn’t cleared the entire apartment. Clearly, he had no idea what she could do.  
  
Lan’s hand scrambled in the vase. He pulled it back out empty and froze again. Amy smiled internally, her external mask staying perfectly smooth. There it was. He had figured out exactly how deep in he was. Time to drop the other shoe.  
  
Amy set a syringe on coffee table with a click. Lan didn’t eat fish. He did however have some other nastier habits that were convenient to her purposes. “Two ways to do this Lan. Either you do it. Or I use the skills I learned for your cousin. Your pick.”  
  
The feral panic in his eyes told her which option he was going to choose.  
  
*****  
  
Amy wiped the last of the blood off her knife as she stepped out the fire exit on the said of the building. An unmarked black SUV pulled up in front of her. Dai leaned across and opened door for her. “Which option did he pick?”  
  
“Lan never did learn prudence. He tried to bluff me.” Amy rolled her eyes and slipped into the passenger seat.  
  
Dai put the car back in gear and pulled away. “Police are on their way.”  
  
“Let them come. The news stories should scare off anyone who thinks they know anything.” Amy buckled her seatbelt and slumped back in the leather seat. It was over. Years of fear and anxiety washed off of her. No more looking over her shoulder. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop. Her past was firmly behind her. None of it could hurt her now. Not really. That fact should make thoughts of the future less daunting. Some how it didn’t.  
  
Dai watched the tiny micro expressions dance across her face in the rear-view mirror. “He was the last of them. How do you feel.”  
  
“Deflated, yet….” She considered the right word for the emotion. Nothing quite fit the feeling. Eventually she settled for the closest she could come up with. “Free.”  
  
“Ready?” Dai shot another look at her from the corner of his eye. She looked drained. He had hoped she would be more energised by the completion of this mission.  
  
“Almost. I got a bunch of information off his phone. We’ll have to go through it. I would like to wrap this up before it happens.” Amy rubbed her eyes. There had been more than one reason she had needed to deal with Jun’ichi’s family. Her grandmother was growing impatient with her reluctance to take more responsibility now that she had turned her collar. At some point she was going to have to accept her place whether she thought she had earned it or not. That would be easier if she didn’t have anything else hanging over her head.  
  
“It’s in two weeks.” Dai pressed. This was happening and there were going to be ramifications. She had to be ready. He had to make sure she was ready. That was his job. Protect her from herself and make sure she could shine her brightest.  
  
“I know.” Amy grumbled. He had been reminding her every three days since her grandmother had set a date for her legitimisation.  
  
“Have you asked them yet?” Dai turned onto the main rode.  
  
“Yes. They’re both coming.” That at least warmed Amy’s heart. Natasha and Steve were both coming to back her up. Steve would provide emotional support, and Natasha could distract the Aunts so they didn’t notice her hesitancy at the whole affair.  
  
“Did you actually tell them why you wanted them to come or are you still hoping to get out of it?” Dai asked.  
  
Amy was tempted to roll out of the still moving car. She settled for bracing her head between her knees and taking deep breaths. Yes, she was still hoping that she would wake up and the last year would turn out to be a bad dream. She had a recurring dream where she woke up tucked under Steve’s arm the morning after he had first told her he loved her. Only this time she didn’t freak out and leave without telling him. This time they talked, and everything was wonderful. North Korea never happened, and she never turned her collar. Sadly, every morning she woke up in a world where she didn’t deserve the things she had. Worse no one _believed_ she didn’t deserve them. “Is it okay if I don’t want to talk about it?”  
  
Dai reached over and rubbed her back softly. “Did you talk to your therapist about it?”  
  
“Yes.” Amy grumbled into the floor mats.  
> “And what did he say?” Dai prompted. There was a reason she had a therapist and it wasn’t just so she had an excuse to sit very still for an hour and a half twice a week.  
  
Amy sighed. She knew what Dai was trying to do. “That lots of people suffer from impostor syndrome and I should try taking an objective look at my accomplishments from the outside.”  
  
“And?” He wheedled. His cousin was smart enough to figure this out if someone could move it out of her blind spot.  
  
“That bastard got blood on my shoe.” Amy growled. Not that she was avoiding the question. This was a matter of principle. “You know what that is? Bad manners. There was a time when you showed up to kill someone and they would either accept their fate or put up an actual fight. None of this begging and terrible escape attempts.”  
  
“Amy.” Dai said sternly. She was very good at changing the subject. Most people let her get away with it. Most people hadn’t held her hair while she threw up or talked her though a panic attack.  
  
Amy winced and sat up. Dai never let her get away with anything. It was why she loved him. “And I’m still not sure the two sides balance out.”  
  
Dai sighed and reached over to squeeze her knee. “You know any of the Aunts would tell you that you’ve got more time to work out the balance. You’re at the beginning of your journey. Not the end.”  
  
“I know.” Amy leaned back in her seat. She wished she could curl into a ball. Or maybe start a fight. Anything but think about all the mistakes she had made in her life.  
  
Dai flicked his eyes at her. She needed to use her whole support system, not just him. “You know who else you could talk to about all this…”  
  
Amy shook her head. That was also on the list of things she didn’t really want to think about. “I’m not going to put this on him. He’s got enough on his plate without worrying about my forever.”  
  
“He’d want this on his plate.” Dai said drumming his finger on the steering wheel. Sometimes it amazed even him how stubborn she could be when she thought she was right. Normally it was fine. Amy was right more often than she was wrong. Only this time he wasn’t sure she was.  
  
“He’s going to want me off his plate as painlessly as possible once we find his Bucky.” And they would find him. _She_ would find him. As Dai knew perfectly well, there was nothing she wouldn’t do for the people in her life that really mattered. That included tracking down the person they were going to spend the rest of their life with and then bowing out gracefully so they could have their fairy-tale ending.  
  
Dai sighed. This was an argument they had had before. “Amy. You know how I love you and someone else.”  
  
“It’s not the same thing Dai.” The relationship between her and Dai was the farthest thing from romantic. She filled a completely different roll in his life from Fredrick. There was no competition between the two of them. They both loved him in their own way and loved each other because of it.  
  
“Not entirely sure it’s all that different.” Dai chided. They at least needed to talk about it. How were they supposed to make sure they were on the same page if they didn’t communicate? And Dai was _sure_ they weren’t on the same page. Every time he saw them together Steve looked at her with forever in his eyes.  
  
“Is your goal for the evening to make me have a break down?” Amy snapped. She was having a hard time regulating her pulse and her breathing. She couldn’t lose Steve. But she couldn’t keep him either.  
  
“My goal is to make you think about things you don’t want to think about. Just like it always is.” Dai slid his hand into hers and squeezed. He was on her side. He would always be on her side. They could get through anything together. After all, hadn’t the worst already happened? Amy was back, now they just had to put the pieces back together.  
  
Amy Squeezed back. No matter what she would still have Dai. “I love you Dai.”  
  
Dai smiled. Yeah. There was work to do, but they would be alright. “When are you going to tell your boy that you love him? He’s not going to use it against you. He’s better than that.”  
  
“When it isn’t going to complicate things.” She wasn’t going to give that kind of leverage to some who needed to leave her eventually. It would hurt too much if he stayed because of it. It would hurt more if he still left.  
  
“You’re impossible.” Dai grumbled. If she and Steve just sat down and talked through their issues. Amy’s new life expectancy. Why she really couldn’t leave Japan for long anymore. What they were going to do when they finally did find the Winter Soldier. Amy was just assuming that Barnes was in love with Steve. There was no guarantee that he was. All she had to back up her theory were old photos, and maybe, maybe Steve breaking his programming. She had been wrong before. It was entirely possible that the huge obstacle Amy had built up between her and happiness was entirely in her mind.  
  
Amy’s phone buzzed before she could respond to that. She pulled it out hoping for some respite from this conversation. It was message with a long string of numbers. Coordinates. Another message buzzed through. Her stomach dropped through the floor. “Dai…”  
  
Dai pushed onward with his rant. He wasn’t going to let Amy avoid this awkward conversation again. She needed to face her fears. “I don’t understand why you are so insistent on clear and open communication on everything except this. You should…”  
  
“Dai. Please?”


	38. Explanations Of What's Going On

Steve ignored a dull ache in his shoulder, it would be gone by the time he woke up. It had been a long day. A good long day. He’d actually helped people today. All week really. The last four days had been spent helping clean up from a major tornado in Montezuma Kansas. Useful work. But he had jarred his shoulder trying to move a collapsed barn off a cellar door. The lecture that had earned him from Sam had been worth it to see the relived faces of the trapped family.  
  
Now he was home in New York. Three days of paperwork and meetings, then he was off to Japan. Off to Amy and her mysterious ‘celebration’. A whole weekend with his girl in his arms. Away from the mess of bureaucracy, and with any luck the nightmares that had been plaguing him the last few weeks. He always slept better with Amy beside him.  
  
He checked his watch. Another present from Amy, it had arrived a couple of weeks ago with a note explaining something about White Day in Japan and how he couldn’t complain about her spoiling him. Platinum and royal blue. Golden stars and a tiny moon that tracked the phases decorated the face. A crystal window showed the complications on the back, complete with sapphires, a pair of engraved kanji, and the gilded Patek Philippe crest. Flashier than he would have chosen for himself, and not something he could wear in the field. But it did keep perfect time. 22:48, just before noon in Kyoto. Amy would be up and working.  
  
He fished his phone out of his pocket and swiped to call her.  
  
Amy answered on the second ring. “_Bonsoir, Mon Ours. Qu’est-ce que tu fais ce soir?_”  
  
That was exactly to voice he had needed to hear. His girl sounding relaxed and ever so slightly out of breath. Amy after a morning working out. He could almost see the way lose strands of her hair would cling to her neck, the way she’d lean on her naginata to answer her phone. “I’m sitting here trying to pack for my weekend. And I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to be packing for.”  
  
“That’s fair.” Amy’s soft laugh sent a shiver down his spine. “You have the honour to attend an intimate family event with the imperial family. The emperors nice by his half sister is being formally adopted, so she has full standing with the family.”  
  
“Baby girl. Are you going to be a princess?” Steve lay back on his bed, wishing Amy was next to him already. She didn’t sound excited. She sounded resigned. Comforting her from 7,000 miles away.  
  
“As hard as I have been trying to avoid it.” Amy sighed. A long exhausted sound. “Yes.”  
  
Steve’s brow furrowed. Definitely resigned. All he wanted to do was kiss her until she smiled and melted into his arms. Since he couldn’t do that, he would have to settle for making her laugh. “Hu. I’ve never slept with a princess before.”  
  
Amy did laugh at that. Steve smiled at the bell like sound. That was better.  
  
He heard rustling on Amy’s end of the line. A door sliding closed. A chair rolling across the floor. The sounds of her settling in her office. “Tell me about your day. A little bird told me you were terribly irresponsible.”  
  
“I don’t know if I’d say that.” Steve tucked his free hand behind his head. He didn’t hate the idea of falling asleep talking to Amy. It was the next best thing to falling asleep with her.  
  
*****  
  
Steve stretched and leaned back in his chair. He felt like he had been trapped in his office for a week. At least it was his personal office in the residence and not official _Captain America_ office in the main S.H.I.E.L.D. office building. He preferred to work in his personal office if he didn’t have any meetings. The official office always felt like a film set, with its inexplicable portraits of presidents and over the top statue of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. He had never even been to Iwo Jima. His personal office was a more relaxed space, warm wood, personal photos, and half the room converted into a painting studio. He could usually steal a little time for his art between calls and emails.  
  
It had been a day full of vaguely irritating calls and returning emails. Not that that came as a surprise, most of his days were made up of vaguely irritating calls and emails. Today was over at least. He’d finished his last call. He was free for the evening. For the entire weekend in fact. His art was calling him now. He just had to figure out what it wanted.  
  
Across the room several portraits watched at him. Three on easels the rest on special shelves that lined one wall. Amy draped upside down in an armchair, sword held parallel to the ground, grey silk slip dress falling down to reveal the long swath of her legs. Natasha with her paired pistols and dress in the same grey, her dress was floor length and slit up to her thigh. She was still half an under-painting, but she was coming together. Bucky leaning forward in his chair, with his roguish grin and his grey shirt half unbuttoned and his rifle balanced across his knees. As many times as Steve had tried to paint him this was the first time Bucky’s eyes had come out right, mischievous and sparkling.  
  
Sam, Tony, Thor, even Wanda had paintings at various levels of completion waiting in the studio area of his office. The only person who had more than one in the work area was Amy.  
Amy’s second painting he had started after Valentine’s Day. A painted love letter. Steve’s attempt to capture Amy the way her saw her. The inspiration had been a moment during one of her visits. Steve had gone to find her at the end of her morning training. She had been talking to Natasha, but had half turned to face him when he had called her name. A beam of sunlight had gilded her skin as she turned. Transforming her into a glowing icon of a true warrior goddess, an aura of grace and wisdom radiating off her.  
  
It was one of his best pieces. His girl in full battle dress. Iris brocade kimono top and sharply pressed violet hakima. Her twin swords on her left hip and her naginata held in a loose diagonal across her body, the tip of the blade almost brushing the floor. Fox mask pushed up of her face. He thought he had captured the soft intensity of her eyes when she was thinking, their purple shining out of her serine face. The touch of a smile just starting on her perfect petal pink lips. Her face and expression were as true to life as he could manage.  
  
He had taken some liberties. He had painted her hair as the long raven waterfall he used to tangle his fingers in. Half twisted up into a top knot secured with pearl topped stick, a thin lock falling out from behind her ear, begging him to tuck it back. Her hair was growing out but hadn’t quite reached that length yet, he knew she missed her and all the dye in the world couldn’t match the luster of her natural colour. The flower decorations on her sword hilts and scabbards had been replaces with tiny gold stars. The lake half visible through the open window behind her wasn’t the pond outside of the fox pavilion, with its decorative rocks and graceful willows. Instead it was the pine edged lake from the Avengers compound.  
  
The most glaring error was one that an outsider probably wouldn’t notice, but one that he was sure Amy would and would appreciate when she saw it. Hanging over her waist band on a thin gold cord was a sleeping fox netsuke. The same obsidian charm that was currently tied to the compass cord in his pocket. A tiny connection, even when he was far away.  
  
He had planned to give it to her for their anniversary. This weekend might be a better time for it. Amy had been stressed. The painting might be just the thing to help. She gave him art every chance she got, showering him with pieces to make him smile. He had the chance to do the same.  
  
Steve levered himself out of his chair. He needed a crate.  
  
*****  
  
“Hey.” Sam leaned against the door frame and looked around Steve’s office. It looked like a hurricane had hit it. There were wood shavings everywhere. An easel had been knocked over. Strips of cotton sheeting littered the floor around the desk. A ball of twine had rolled into the corner, trailing string all the way. At the desk Steve hunched over a half-assembled crate, more wood shavings clinging to his hair, carefully trying to line up a nail.  
  
“Hey.” Steve looked up from his project. Hammer in hand.  
  
“You need any help?” Sam asked. He had been hoping to find Steve unoccupied. This might be better. They could talk without having to stare at each other.  
  
“Yeah, can you hold that for me?” Steve gestured at the far end of the crate, where the board he was trying to attach kept trying to slip out of line.  
  
“I think I owe you an apology.” Sam shoved a mound of packing material out of the way with his foot as he picked his way around the desk. It had been years since he’s had to have this conversation, and it hadn’t gone as well as he would have liked.  
  
“Yeah? What for?” Steve eyed the corner he was attaching. Was that secure enough? He wanted to be sure the crate was secure enough to protect Amy’s portrait. He had to get it halfway around the world after all.  
  
Sam took a deep breath. He just had to say it. Steve wasn’t going to overreact and freak out. There weren’t going to be month of awkward meals before he came to terms. He was probably going to say something supportive then ask if Sam wanted to run the obstacle course or hit the shooting range for training tomorrow. “I’m gay.”  
  
Steve hefted the next side of the crate into place without looking up. “Not sure why you’d have to apologize for that. Unless you’re sleeping with Bucky. In which case, fuck you for not telling me where he is and that he’s safe.” So that was what was going on with the British sniper. Amy was going to give him the worst I told you so look when she found out he knew. He would bet any money that Amy and Nat both knew and had decided it wasn’t their place to say anything.  
  
Sam laughed. Or Steve might make a sarcastic joke and go on with his day because he didn’t think it was a big deal. “No. Nothing like that. But you trusted me and Nat. We’ve been friends for years and I never told you.”  
  
“I understand.” Steve set his hammer down. Sam looked sceptical, like he didn’t know if Steve meant that or was just saying that. This was a serious conversation. Sam was one of his best friends. Apparently, he needed a reminder than _nothing_ was going to change that, let alone something that actually was nothing.  
  
He leaned against the edge of the desk and crossed his arms. “Falsworth was gay. I found out when Bucky woke me up at two in the morning so we could go bale him out after the MP’s arrested him for indecent acts.”  
  
Sam blinked. “Dude… That’s…”  
  
“Not public knowledge.” Steve snorted. “No, it isn’t. His family made sure everything stayed hushed up after the war. The point is I understand why someone might not want to share that sort of thing with the world. Even now.”  
  
Steve scrubbed a hand through his hair dislodging a shower of wood shavings. “Things haven’t changed that much since I first punched a Nazi. But they are changing. They change every time we stand up and say I am worthy no matter what the rest of the world thinks.”  
  
Sam shook his head. Every time Steve needed to say the right thing, he nailed it. “Seriously. Do just always have the perfect speech for a situation?”  
  
“Almost never.” Steve laughed.  
  
“You’re my best friend.” Sam bumped his shoulder against Steve’s affectionately. “Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”  
  
Steve bumped him back. “You’re the best guy I know Sam. Just by being you.”  
  
*****  
  
Nat followed the dim glow through the main floor of the residence. It was well past midnight. Tony wasn’t here. None of the others should be awake, but someone was. She walked slowly down the four steps to the personal garage and found the source of the light.  
  
Steve knelt in the middle of the garage. His bike propped up with wheel chucks. A basin in front of him. His hair was spiked up on one side where he had run a dirty hand through it. There was a smear of grease on his forearm. A wrench stuck out of the back pocket of his jeans. Somehow, he had managed to keep his undershirt pristine.  
  
Nat leaned against the hood of the half-repaired Chevy Sam insisted on keeping. “What are you doing?”  
  
Steve wiped his hands on a rag. “Changing my bike’s oil.”  
  
“Steve, it is four in the morning.” Natasha glared at him. She could see that much. She also had to assume there was more too it than routine maintenance. “What are you doing?”  
  
Steve closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the side of his bike. Trust Nat to see through him. “Bucky stabbed me in the gut with the sceptre then he and Amy rode off laughing on a giant space whale.” He found himself twisting and untwisting the rag in his hand. He wasn’t sure which part of the dream had bothered him the most, Bucky trying to kill him again, or Bucky and Amy leaving him without looking back.  
  
He dropped the rag. It was just a dream. He knew it was just a dream. Neither of those things was going to happen. Amy wouldn’t abandon him, and Bucky wasn’t going to try and kill him again, not after he had pulled him out of the river. Not that knowing that was making him feel any better. He looked up to see Natasha’s look of understanding. She got it. He was glad someone did, he didn’t feel like explaining himself. Her being here to understand did raise questions of its own. “What are you doing up?”  
  
“Parameter sweep.” Natasha shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t really want to admit that she was awake for a similar reason.  
  
“Right.” Steve snorted. He completely believed her. “Just like I’m changing my oil.”  
  
Natasha sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Red room decided Wanda was a good candidate. Only Wanda can’t dance for shit. They were going to ‘re-educate’ her. I kept trying to get to her, but the hallway was doing the thing.”  
  
Steve nodded and flipped on the coffee pot Tony had insisted on having in the corner of the garage. He was almost ashamed of how long it had taken him to figure out _why_ Tony had insisted. “Pull up a seat. You can finish filling me in on that mess in Georgia. Should we be boots on the ground or will that just rile them up more.”  
  
Nat settled herself in the back seat of the golf cart that had inexplicably been added to their vehicle collection at some point. Close enough that they could talk comfortably. The batted the pros and cons of in person intervention back and forth for the better part of a half hour. The time between Steve’s questions and Natasha’s answers slowly grew longer, and eventually stopped.  
  
Steve looked over after a few minutes of silence. Natasha was sound asleep, her head against the golf cart’s roof support. He smiled, at least someone could sleep. He used the flannel shirt he had discarded once he had started working as a blanket. Careful not to disturb her as he tucked it around her torso. Natasha was small enough that she swam under the plaid fabric. Steve felt a wave of familial love wash over him. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. There wasn’t nearly enough evidence of Natasha being soft the way he knew she could be.  
  
He forwarded the picture to Clint, saved a copy to the file on his secure cloud labelled 'show Bucky', and deleted the original. Nat wasn’t a fan of any kind of evidence.  
  
*****  
  
Dai watched Amy through the half open door. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess, the staccato rhythm she was tapping on her desk was ever so slightly off tempo. He shouldn’t have left her alone so soon after She took out Lan. There was no one here who would notice or call her out when she wasn’t taking care of herself, and she clearly wasn’t taking care of herself. It had only been three days. Fredrick had had a show, it had been important. She would have called him if things were really bad… He should have made her come with him.  
  
Amy set down her sword, stretched, and cracked her neck. She was getting stiff from sitting at her desk for too long. She should get up and move. She should eat something. Then maybe another workout. Her eyes were starting to get tired. A change of scene would do her good. Although given that her cousin was hovering outside her office, she doubted she would be allowed to keep wearing herself out. “Skulking is rude.”  
  
Dai nudged the door open the rest of the way with his foot. He should have known she’d find him out. He set a tray with a sandwich and glass of chilled tea on the end of Amy’s desk. “Have you slept at all since I left?”  
  
Amy flipped over a page and started making notes on a new report. Was there anything she hated as much as talking about how she was sleeping? “Sure. I got eight uninterrupted hours last night, then went out for brunch with my girlfriends. We had simply the best mimosas.”  
  
He sighed and shoved the sandwich towards her. “Sarcasm should never be confused with wit you know.”  
  
Amy widened her eyes and made an innocent face. “You didn’t let me get to the part where I went shopping at Neiman Markus. I had a whole anecdote about returning a pair of Menolos because I realised they were the wrong shade of oxblood.”  
  
“So, you didn’t sleep?” Dai leaned against the edge of the desk  
  
“Why would I sleep?” Amy tried to feign nonchalance as she waved away the question. Of course, she hadn’t slept. Her mind had gone straight for the dream where she was back in Jun’ichi’s apartment every time she closed her eyes. With the fun added twist of some new playmates. She could still feel the heat of Steve’s hand squeezing her neck and the slipperiness of Bucky’s blood between her fingers. Natasha’s glazed eyes would haunt her for a very long time, no one should gag the black widow. “I had work to do.”  
  
Dai fluffed his hair. Faking confidence was never a good sign. Failing at faking it was even worse. “If the nightmares are that bad, we can see about medication again.”  
  
Amy pointedly avoided looking at him. He knew why that wasn’t a viable answer. She had tried medication more than once; it had always ended… badly. “Medication has only ever made things worse when it comes to my brain.”  
  
Amy leaned forward on her elbows. She knew why he was worried. And she could ease some of his worries at least. “I called my therapist. He said I should try mediating more.”  
  
Dai sighed and pulled up his chair. Amy mediated at least three times a week as it was. Any more than that and she said started to lose herself in the hive mind. “What work are we doing?”  
  
“Some idiot made a knock off Ant-man suite and is trying to find a buyer.” Amy said picking up the sandwich. She didn’t need to look after herself. Dai could do that for her. She could focus on taking care of her country and her world. In that order. There was nothing to prevent her from being a perfect princess anymore. So that was what she would do.  
  
“Are we going to buy it?” Dai asked snagging the prospectus off her desk.  
  
“Fuck no.” Amy snorted around a mouthful of bread. “The technology is way too unreliable.”


	39. Steve Misses Something

There was dinner. Then Amy’s grandmother insisting that Amy dance for them. Greeting the rest Amy’s extended family as they arrived. One more glass of sake. A million little things that kept Steve and Amy at the center of one crowd or another. It wasn’t until late that they finally found themselves alone in Amy’s room. Steve making up the futon while Amy knelt at her dressing table and washed the makeup off her face.  
Steve wrapped his arms around Amy from behind, pulling her in against his chest and nipping at the back of her neck. “Will I do? Can you keep me?”  
“I’m keeping you.” Amy said tipping her head back so he could kiss her.  
Steve let his hand drift up, cupping her neck and keeping her head tipped with a thumb on her jaw. She tasted delicious. He couldn’t wait to get his mouth on the rest of her. He tightened the arm around waist and carried her giggling to the bed. He dropped onto the plush mattress, settling Amy in his lap. “My perfect girl.”  
Amy leaned against his chest, letting her head fall back into his shoulder.  
Steve brushed his fingers up her thighs from her knees all the way to hem of her nightgown. These pretty little night gowns drove him crazy. She didn’t wear them all the time, but every time she did, he wanted to bend her burry his face between her legs. He pressed the heel of his hand against the crotch of her panties. She was soaking wet already. He rubbed a circle against her clit drawing out a needy whimper.  
Amy pressed her face into his neck. His touch left trails of fire on her skin. “Steve.”  
“Yeah sweetheart?” Steve smiled into her hair. She was so worked up already. It wouldn’t take her long to finish if he kept playing with her like this.  
“I need you.” She gasped clutching at him. She had been so stressed and worried the last few weeks. None of that mattered when he had his hands on her. Everything that wasn’t them melted away, the world narrowing down to the width of their futon.  
That was exactly what he wanted to hear. Steve hooked his thumbs under the sides of her underwear. He stripped them off in a smooth motion. Leaving Amy exposed in his lap. He stroked her inner thighs again, loving the way her skin shivered and her breath hitched when he touched her. He traced a circle around her clit. His touch feather light. She made the most intoxicating sounds when he teased her.  
Not that he just wanted to tease her. He slipped a finger inside her. She was already dripping in anticipation. He added a second finger curling them against the soft spot just above her pubic bone. She let out a needy whimper and he speed up just a little. He couldn’t deny his girl what she wanted.  
They way she moaned and clenched around his fingers when she finished made his cock throb with excitement. He knew exactly what that felt like when he was inside her and was very much looking forward to feeling it again, very soon. Soon, but not yet.  
“I think I might need a different angle.” Steve growled dumping her out of his lap and rolling on top of her. What he really needed was to taste her. Devour her. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn’t think his girl would mind. He draped one of her legs over his shoulder and started his feast with a long luxurious lick.  
Amy reached between her legs, tangling her fingers in his hair to anchor herself. Every time he went down on her she was amazed all over again at exactly how _good_ he was at it. “Steve.”  
“Are you going to finish for me sweetheart?” Steve cooed. He felt her emphatic nod shake her entire body. He flicked his eyes along the length of her body. She was biting her lip to keep from screaming. A terrible idea in his opinion. He loved hearing every little jolt of pleasure as they rocked her. He dropped his mouth to her clit again, working his fingers inside her at the same time. He would just have to make sure this orgasm was a good one so she couldn’t help but make noise.  
And make noise she did. Just a few seconds latter his attentions earned him a breathless gasping burst of pleasure and a rush of liquid against his tongue. He smothered a smile and kissed his way up her body.  
“Done for the night sweetheart?” Steve teased nipping her collar bone.  
“Ready for the main event.” Amy said still slightly breathless and shuddering. She pulled off her nightgown and looked at him expectantly.  
Steve shed his own clothes. He was ready too. He rolled on a condom and lay back on the futon, keeping eye contact with Amy through the entire process. The way her pupils exploded, and she licked her lips was better than whiskey. He held out his arms invitingly.  
She rolled on top of him. Lining herself up and slowly lowering herself onto his length. Riding Steve was a nearly addictive experience. He filled her so perfectly, and they way he devoured her with his eyes made her feel cherished and filthy all at once.  
Steve wrapped his hands around her waist and helped her find a smooth rhythm. Their eyes locked. He grinned wickedly up at her. His Amy. Normally so posed and refined. Except when he was inside her. Her composed mask shattered when he took her. It was probably a form of vanity to be this proud of being the one to make her lose control so beautifully. He didn’t really care as long as he got to keep doing it.  
Amy eyes rolled back in her head. A shudder ran through her entire body. Her mind went blank. A breathless scream escaped her, and she slumped forward on Steve’s chest.  
“Fuck. I love when you do that.” Steve growled curling his hand around the back of her head and tipping it so he could kiss her. There were few things in his life that did it for him like making Amy finish. The sight and feel of it had him right on the edge of his own climax.  
He cupped his hands around her thighs and took over moving her. Amy whimpered and clutched at his shoulders. Steve twisted his head and pressed his lips to hers. She pressed into him hungrily. He thrust up into her one last time and spilled deep inside her, filling the condom.  
Amy wrapped her hand around the base of Steve’s shaft securing the condom in place as she eased off him. She collapsed next to him, giving herself a moment catch her breath.  
Steve stopped her when she made to get them a damp cloth. He pushed her back down into the bed. This whole weekend was about her. He could handle cleaning them up tonight.  
A warm damp cloth to wipe away the rapidly cooling moisture on her legs, a cold glass of water, clean panties and a night gown. Cleaned up and tucked under a thick duvet, his girl looked more relaxed than she had been all day.  
Steve dropped onto the bed next to her. She would be even more relaxed after a goodnight’s sleep.  
Amy curled against his side. The warmth of his arm soaking into her skin. Just his being here had helped her nerves. A few mind-blowing orgasms and everything felt less daunting. She wondered if they should talk about the kind of public image they were going to present tomorrow. Whether he wanted to connect himself with her as more than a friend during what she hoped would be her brief flair of popularity, or if he wanted to stay 'friends' until things had died down. A surprise yawn decided for her. It could wait until morning.  
Steve ran his fingers through her hair. His girl, who avoided the spotlight with such grace, was going to be a princess. “Are you scared?”  
Amy nuzzled her face into his neck. As far as the outside world was concerned tomorrow should be one of the best days of her life. She suspected it wouldn’t be. Although it stood a chance if she had Steve with her. “Terrified. Don’t tell anyone.”  
“Our little secret.” Steve kissed her hair softly. “Try and get some sleep sweetheart.”  
*****  
The entire atmosphere of Amy’s room was changed by the luxuriant brocade kimono that hung on a stand along one wall. Rich gold and violet threads wove together to form a pattern of irises, lacquered threads embroidered on top of the flowery base mimicked leaves. Under robes in a variety of monochromatic geometric patterns sat neatly folded beside the stand. Most stunning was the cloth of gold robe that would sit just below the brocade outer robe. An obi in deep green silk as well as a creamy white and gold under cloth waited, looped on a second stand.  
The equivalent of dozens of yards of silk lent an extra sense of grander and luxury to the Normally reserved space. They softened the cool light from the window, turning it into a soft glow before it reached Amy at her dressing table.  
Watching Amy get ready for a formal event was fascinating. Steve lounged on the futon watching her comb wax into her hair and smooth it into elaborate swoops. Her face was so serine, almost meditative. Bits and pieces added structure, loops of brightly coloured thread, a gold band. Steve rolled a thin wooden stick topped with a creamy pearl between his fingers.  
He should draw her like this. He should draw her all the time. But especially like this. Half done up, robe slipping down one shoulder. That tiny smile when her eyes met his in the mirror. She was perfect like this.  
This moment was pretty perfect in and of itself. Quiet. Peaceful. Just the two of them. Safe in their bubble. Steve cursed himself for even thinking it. As soon as he did his phone started ringing. Sam’s office phone.  
Steve kissed Amy’s bare shoulder. “I have to take this.”  
She mimed a kiss at his reflection and eased a jade comb into place.  
That was his girl, always unruffled. Steve swiped to open his phone. “Go Sam.”  
Steve’s face fell at what Sam told him. He paced restlessly. The hard lump in his stomach growing larger wit each new sentence. “How do you kidnap an entire school?”  
“Take the strike team, get boots on the ground as soon as possible. I’ll grab Nat and well throw together a more concrete plan.” He fisted a hand in his hair. This was bad. All hands-on deck bad. “And have Rhody call Tony.”  
Steve sunk to his knees behind Amy and leaned his forehead against the back of her neck. “Two hundred schoolgirls. They kidnapped _two hundred_ schoolgirls. Right out of their dormitory.” He wrapped his arms around her, finding her eyes in the mirror. This was a huge day for her. He had said he would be here. “I think I have to go to work.”  
“You absolutely have to.” Amy met his gaze fiercely. This was who he was. She would never stop him from doing the part of his job he loved. He needed to save people like he needed to breath.  
Steve sighed and pressed his face into Amy’s neck. Couldn’t the world just hold off being awful while his girl needed him. “I’m sorry sweetheart I know this weekend was important to you.”  
“You wouldn’t be you if you could ignore this.” Amy rubbed his arm soothingly. His leaving wasn’t what had her nervous. Anyone with the resources to capture two hundred people was a threat, even to him. “Call me. Once you’re safe. Or if you need any thing at all.”  
Steve cupped her face and kissed her. “I’ll call you. As soon as we are done, I will call you and you can tell me everything.”  
“Save the world _Mon Ours_, I’ll be here when you’re done.” Amy kissed the hand holding her cheek. He would be fine. He was Captain America. It would take more than a ransom network to take him out… Maybe she would have Dai tap into their over watch system. Just so they could keep an eye on things.  
Steve stopped in the doorway. Looking back at his girl. He caught a flash of pain in her eyes, quickly covered when she saw him watching. “I love you. You’re going to be great.”  
*****  
A final bell rang. The royal family including all of the Foxes stood, thanking the priest as they started into the temple courtyard.  
Amy let out a long shaky breath. It was over. She was a princess.  
She hoped Kiki and Hideyoshi appreciated this. There was no way she would have agreed to this kind of exposure if they hadn’t needed her. But there weren’t a lot of royals left. This was the easiest way to ensure that there was someone they could trust in a position to take care of their children if anything happened. It was a long shot. Hideyoshi’s father was still healthy, and Hideyoshi himself had decades of life ahead of him. This was just a precaution. Hideyoshi had been paranoid about the future since Kiki’s kidnapping. She would do anything to protect them. Including giving up a significant amount of her personal freedom.  
And it made her grandmother happy.  
Dai handed Amy back her swords. He was playing attendant today. Partly for appearance sake. Partly because Amy needed the emotional support.  
“Well?” Amy asked almost soundlessly. Covering the conversation by securing her swords on her belt.  
“They found the girls.” Dai whispered back. “Their waiting for dark to go in.”  
“Tony and Rhody are with them?” Amy fell into procession with the rest of her family. Dai at her left shoulder. The press were waiting outside the shrine gates. The legitimisation of the emperor’s bastard niece was the biggest coup to happen in the royal family since Amy’s mother had married a foreigner. Especially since Ayame was such an enigma as far as they were concerned.  
Dai gave one sharp nod. Nothing that would alert to photographers now snapping pictures that there was anything going on beyond the ceremony. “And Vision. They’ll be fine.”  
“I’ll try to relax then.” Amy said maintaining the smooth gate that would make her hem flutter prettily. She was almost looking forward to seeing the news tomorrow. And not just because the lead story would probably be her Steve returning a flock of children to their families.


	40. City Of Lights

Peace time Paris was a completely different city form the one Steve hand known. He was starting to understand why people called it a glittering jewel. The last time he had been here there had been a lingering air of desperation. That had completely evaporated during the intervening years, at least in the bubble of opulence. Here all this luxury seemed natural. The logical result of this place and time.  
  
Steve leaned against the gallery railing watching the swirling dancers on the floor below. The beautiful people glittered in the deliberately flattering light making him feel almost under-dressed in the grey suit and darker grey shirt the S.H.I.E.L.D. stylists had picked out for him. Parties were slightly less awful when he had work to concentrate on. Everything was still too gaudy and loud, the people vapid and insincere, but at least he could feel productive while people swooned.  
  
Not that tonight was proving very productive for him or Sam. This was really more Natasha’s wheelhouse than either of theirs. The swooning did very little to help with making contact covertly. And while Natasha and Amy seemed to have figured out how to reliably turn fawning into useful information, he still lacked the knack for getting people to tell him what he wanted to know instead of whatever they wanted to tell him.  
  
Unfortunately, Natasha was in Haiti talking to a contact that would only talk to her. Steve would be irritated, but the contact had a lead on Bucky. He would suffer through a party every night for a year if it meant a lead on Bucky.  
  
He had given up on getting close to any of their targets himself and resorted to surveilling the primary while Sam tried to get close enough to work on of the secondaries. So far neither of them was having much luck. None of the Secondaries wanted to talk to Sam, and all their primary had done for the last hour was follow a girl around the party.  
  
Steve had noted as many details about her as he could from this distance. Slim figure, dark hair, a black dress that looked expensive even from here. She didn’t seem as interested in the target as he was with her. She had danced with him three times, but she had also danced with several other men. When he had handed her a drink it had ended up abandoned on a table before Steve had seen her take a single drink. He was curious who this apparently enthralling woman was, but so far she hadn’t looked up so he could get a good look at her or even shown her face to one of the half dozen security cameras that monitored the space, if she had done that he would have been able to grab her photo off his phone thanks to some clever behind the scenes work from Tony.  
  
Sam appeared next to him, looking surprisingly nervous. “Hey, I know we’re working, but could I introduce you to someone?”  
  
Steve levered himself off the banister. Their primary target was dancing with the girl again. She hadn’t cut a dance short yet, they should have a couple of minutes before there were any developments. “Sure Sam. It’s not like we’re making a ton of progress here.”  
  
Sam led him down the stair, weaving through the crowd by the bar. Steve tried to channel Natasha and wink flirtatiously at the women who made eye contact with him. It defiantly didn’t come naturally. He wished he had Amy with him. Something about having her on his arm always made him feel more daring. Plus, he could almost guarantee that she would know exactly how to find the information they needed.  
  
A blonde man had claimed one of the large booths the ringed the dance floor. Sitting at the end of the bench seat swirling a glass of whiskey, watching the crowd intently. He looked up when Steve and Sam got close and moved in so Sam could sit next to him. Steve sat across the table from them curiously. It was the British soldier from the night Amy had helped him rescue Sam. What on earth was he doing here?  
  
“Steve this is Brian. I know you've kind of met before but I wanted to do this properly. Not that this is properly. It should be like a scheduled thing shouldn’t it. I’m babbling.” Sam slipped his hand around Brian’s knee and squeezed. “Look what you do to me. I can do all sorts of stupid shit with this guy without batting an eye, but you make me babble like an idiot.”  
  
Brian stretched his arm along the back of the booth behind Sam. “Want me to do it?”  
  
“No. I got it.” Sam took a deep breath. “Cap. Meet my boyfriend.”  
  
Brian grinned and offered a hand to Steve. Sam was adorable. He’d never dated someone so nervous about introducing him to his friends. What was he going to do when they got to the meeting the parent stage? “Captain Braddock. HRM Horse Guard.”  
  
Steve’s eyebrows went up. No one under forty actually served in the Horse Guard. Unless thing had changed drastically that meant Braddock was SAS, probably high-ranking SAS. “Horse Guard. I used to know a lot of guys who served in the Horse Guard.”  
  
Brian smiled his best roguish grin. Steve had figured it out right away. No wonder the goddess liked him. “I’m sure you did. It’s still the place they shove all is spares to keep us out of trouble.”  
  
“Who are you calling a spare? You might be fifth in line for the throne, but you’re the only heir to a dukedom.” A dark-haired man set a tray of drinks on the table.  
  
Brian frowned at his best friend. “And you’re supposed to be acting as back up.”  
  
“I was starting to attract more attention than was healthy.” The dark-haired man shrugged and slid into the booth next to Steve. “And she has over watch.”  
  
He turned, looked Steve up and down, and extended a hand. “Dane Whitman. What brings you to our table?”  
  
Steve shook the hand. “These two, and what is starting to look like a wild goose chase.”  
  
Steve shifted around to the back side of the table. From here he had line of sight to their target. The girl had disappeared, and he was looking put out by the fact. The other men at the table moved on to discussing the party and its guests. Steve leaned back into the shadows that edged the table, resisting the urge to adjust the holster under his arm. When he got back, he was going to make point of finding out who was in charge of his concealed holsters and have a talk with them about the importance of fit. He didn’t like carrying a gun when he was undercover in the first place, having the holster pinch and rub was added stress he didn’t need.  
  
“Way to abandon me on the dancefloor.” An irritated female voice broke into the conversation. It’s owner striding towards their little group, black hair immaculate, the feather trim on her black dress drawing focus to her long shapely legs. She punched Dane in the shoulder and dropped onto the bench next to him. “I swear if another pampered princeling who’s never had to make a real decision in his life tells me how beautiful I am I will do something drastic. As it is, I had to fake twisting an ankle to get away from LeMark.”  
  
Steve grinned. Amy. Amy was the girl their target had been talking too all night. He leaned forward so his face wasn’t in shadow. “To be fair you are pretty beautiful.”  
  
“Steve?” Amy blinked across the table at him. She had no idea how or why he was here, but after a long night of being treated like a trophy and having to pretend to enjoy it she was overjoyed to see her boy. Her sweet boy, who loved her for her brain and her heart, who wanted to know what she had to say even when it wasn’t light and clever. Steve who loved her for her and not just what she could do for him and his image.  
  
There was some shuffling as Amy and Dane swapped spots, ending with Amy tucked tight against Steve’s side.  
  
Steve fiddled with one of the art nouveau earrings framing her face. The black dress that had seemed so simple from above was glorious up close. Shear fabric covered her shoulders and chest. Tiny buttons ran down the front. Tight bands of fabric hugged her around her ribs and upper thighs. The bottom foot of the skirt was trimmed with feathers that brushed her knees. With her vintage shoes and accessories, she was timelessly gorgeous. His girl. Perfect in everything she did. “Surprised to see me sweetheart?”  
  
“Not unpleasantly.” Amy looked up at Steve through her lashes.  
  
“Oy.” Dane snapped his fingers. “I know that look. Eyes on the prize goddess. You’re working, we have a bet.”  
  
Amy waved him off dismissively. He should know better. She never let pleasure come before work. Even the pleasure that was flirting with her Steve. “Oh relax. I already did your thing.”  
  
“And?” Brian asked swirling the ice in his new drink.  
  
Amy crossed her ankles and observed the Brits. They were trying to play it cool, but they were both deeply anxious about her answer. Luckily, she didn’t have to disappoint them. “And he has the list. It’s the safe at Paribas Private Bank. Safety deposit box 3304.”  
  
Steve’s heart soared. Amy was here and she had succeeded at thing he had been failing at all night. Today wasn’t going to be a waste of time. His girl was going to pull his fat out of the fire again.  
  
Dane rubbed his temples. “Oh, bloody hell. What are the odds we can get a warrant?”  
  
Brian exhaled a log slow breath considering. The only reason they were here was the suspicion that MI6 was compromised on this. If MI6 was compromised it was a good bet the Gendarmerie was too. “Without him finding out that we know? Next to impossible.”  
  
Brian set his glass down carefully. There wasn’t much _they_ could do about this. “Ayame….”  
  
Amy downed Brian’s drink in one gulp. “Dai and I flew halfway around the world, I subjected myself to this party, flirted with the single most irritating mobster I have ever met, and now you want us to break into a bank too?”  
  
“Yes.” Brian sat back in his seat.  
  
Dane leaned his forearms on the table. “Basically.”  
  
“Seems reasonable.” Sam shrugged.  
  
Amy sigh and leaned more of her weight into Steve. Breaking into the safe was the easy part, she could do that in her sleep. Everything else… “I’ll need an alibi.”  
  
Brian drummed his hands on the edge of the table before throwing his arms in the air, a good parody of the kind of party boy he was pretending to be. “After party in the goddess’s suite.”  
  
Amy curled her fingers around Steve’s. That was the obvious ploy, and one she had used with Brian before. Only she hadn’t had Steve in her life during any of those adventures. “I’m going to need you to disappear for a few hours, _Mon Ours_. I need it to look like I’m occupied and I won’t use anyone else.”  
  
Steve squeezed her hand back. She wasn’t getting rid of him that easily. She was obviously about to do something reckless and he wasn’t about to let her don’t without back up. “I’ll come with you. You'll need someone to stand guard.”  
  
“You’re sure?” Amy rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand affectionately. It would mean a lot if he went with her. She would have a second pair of eyes if she needed them and Dai run over watch from safety.  
  
“I’m with you baby girl.” He kissed her cheek, lips brushing against her ears he straightened back up. “Till the end of line.”  
  
Amy shook her head and immediately began a flurry of texts on her phone. Her heart had found a new rhythm beating the words 'he loves me' against her ribs over and over. She couldn’t let the rhythm distract her. Short term she had work to do. Long term he had a soulmate to end up with and it wasn’t her. The thought still filled her with warmth, however temporary.  
  
*****  
  
This wasn’t the kind of party Steve had been expecting. He'd assume the 'after party' would be a subdued affair with just their group. That people would know it was happening and who would be there, but not actually be invited. After all this whole thing was just a ruse to create an alibi.  
  
That was not what this was. The penthouse suite of the Hotél Saint Germain was packed full of people, most of whom Steve didn’t recognised, more shockingly some of whom he _did_. There was the French minister of finance chatting with Dai. The star of that teen movie Clint had made them watch listening to Fredrick hold court in the dining room. Dane and Brian even had their target cornered by the bar.  
  
And everywhere there was Amy. She drifted around the room. Talking to everyone. Laughing. Being seen. Friendly with everyone, her eyes found Steve’s every few minutes. He would wink and she would lick her lips. He supposed this was a more secure alibi. If 60 odd people could all vouch for their whereabouts, including the victim of the theft, who would suspect them. It was rather brilliant. Especially since those glances she kept giving him made it clear what their secondary alibi would be.  
  
He smiled as she made a beeline for him. People started twittering about her plans before she even reached him. Steve’s smile only grew wider as she got close enough for him to see the glint in her eyes. This looked to be a fun plan. He rested his arms along the back of the couch, opening his posture in invitation.  
  
Did he even know how much of a temptation he was? Amy’s eyes flashed and she climbed into his lap. Straddling his legs, her skirt bunching up and exposing most of her legs. Steve’s hands closed automatically around her thigs just below the hem. Leaning forward she kissed her up his neck and ran her nose around the shell of his ear. “Ready handsome?”  
  
“What exactly am I doing?” Steve watched their target out of the corner of his eye. He was definitely not pleased at the attention Amy was paying him. Steve stroked the soft skin of Amy’s legs. Let him glare. She was his.  
  
“Exactly what you want to do right now.” Amy kissed his jaw. Sadly, they wouldn’t be able to do _exactly_ what she wanted to do right now. They had work to do. Fun would have to wait.  
  
Steve kissed her shoulder in return, his hands sliding up her thighs until the feathers tickled his wrists. He understood the plan, and would freely admit that he wished they could make their alibi the truth. “What I want to do is carry you off to your bedroom and keep you there all night.”  
  
Amy bit her lip. It was very hard to stay focused when his voice went husky like that. “Now that sounds like a good idea.”  
  
Steve scooped Amy into his arms, making her laugh and cling to his neck. The crowd parted as they made their way through the party to the master bedroom. Other guests twittered, or smiled indulgently, a few women sighed jealously, some of the men glared. Steve exchanged a wink with Dane on the way by.  
  
He kicked the door shut behind them and let Amy leap out of his arms. She tossed her head back and let out a loud gasp of pleasure. Steve perched him self on the edge of the bed while she moved around the room preparing for their departure, gasping or laughing every time she got close to the door. Her shoes and jewellery came off. A dead bolt and a security lock were engaged.  
  
“Slow down baby girl.” Steve laughed loud enough to be heard through the door. This was kind of fun too. Not as fun as actually peeling that dress off her and throwing her down on the overstuffed bed would be. But fun.  
  
Amy winked at him and connected a set of speakers to an mp3 player. She scrolled through the audio tracks loaded on the device until she found the one she was looking for. Four hours should be enough time.  
  
Steve listened to the sounds from the speaker. He briefly thought it was just the audio from some porno. Then he recognised the female voice. That was definitely Amy. He would know that breathy moan anywhere, but- “That’s not me.”  
  
“No. Of course not.” Amy whispered back. “When would I have made the recording? It’s Bri.”  
  
“Sam’s boyfriend Bri?” Steve asked standing close behind her so he could speak without being overhead.  
  
“Are they public now? That’s nice.” Amy was slightly distracted digging through her suite case to find her favourite lock picks, it was hard to find a set that were fine enough for small locks but strong enough to stand the torque. “Yes. That Bri. He's a good friend and used to be my favourite booty call. This isn’t the first time we’ve pulled this particular stunt.”  
  
“Used to be?” Steve wouldn’t admit to being nervous, but then the other man was a Duke to Amy’s Princess, and what was he really.  
  
“I don’t need to make booty calls anymore. I have something better.” Amy winked at him and ducked out the window.  
  
Steve followed her, edging carefully along the window ledge. A knot loosening in his chest. It had been a very encouraging wink. The kind that promised tonight’s fun wouldn’t end with a bank heist.


	41. A Heist

Halfway to the end of the building Amy shoved up a window sash and ducked back inside.  
  
Steve looked around. A slightly smaller suite only one bedroom and no kitchen. It was full of rolling racks and boxes, all stamped with Amy's crest. “You have a second hotel suite?”  
  
“Where else am I supposed to keep all my clothes? A girl needs options.” Amy batted her eyelashes at him as she unzipped a garment bag. Instead of an extravagant ball gown or even a chic outfit the bag was filled with weapons in a cleverly constructed hanging organiser. A second bag opened on blue legging like pants, a sports bra and a wrapped shirt.  
  
Steve shook his head and leaned against the wall to watch her get dressed. A joy at anytime there was something special about watching her transform from pretty party girl into the Fox Demon of Nippon. Tonight’s outfit was slightly different from what he had seen her wear before. This wasn’t her heavy tactical gear with its bullet proof jacket and loose-fitting pants. This was designed for sneaking. Tight fitting and flexible. The deep blue cloth hugged her limbs, leaving no loose edges to snag or catch on anything. No visible weapons cluttered the outside, although he had seen a few flashes of metal while she was trying the wrapped shirt closed and there were flat pockets on the outside of her thighs that undoubtably held surprises.  
  
Amy selected another garment bag and tossed it at him. “You can’t go skulking around Paris in a poorly fitted suit.”  
  
Steve would have objected to her disparaging the suit, except it was nowhere near as comfortable as anything she had bought him, and he was very conscious of the holster under his arm. He didn’t think he’d feel like he had a permanent imprint of a gun barrel on his ribs in one of Fredrick’s suites. Instead he investigated the contents of the bag.  
  
Inside he found a midnight blue outfit to match Amy’s. Fatigue pants like the ones he normally wore on missions. A tight-fitting shirt that seemed to absorb light. Dark gloves with padding to protect his knuckles. Black combat boots. Everything in exactly his size. “Why do you have this if you didn’t know I was going to be here?”  
  
“Always be prepared.” Amy winked. She took a moment to make sure the straps of her sports bra were sitting properly. “Also, it helps bulk out the collection visually. I don’t like to travel with my real couture, the temperature and humidity changes are too hard on it. I usually only bring what I’m actually going to wear, maybe one or two spare outfits to cover contingencies.”  
  
“Pulse a whole bunch of red herrings.” Steve chuckled and popped a radio bud into his ear.  
  
“People expect me to be a certain kind of girl, and I do hate to disappoint people.” Amy teased back, smoothing the warp of her top over her chest. The soft face wrap she wore when she couldn’t wear her fox mask went around her neck next, she would leave her face uncovered until they were closer to their target.  
  
Dressed she boosted herself onto the dresser and watched Steve carefully adjusting the laces on his boots so they would pinch or rub. “I never did ask what you were here for.”  
  
Steve grinned and shrugged his shoulder holster back on. “Someone stole the list of Hydra agents from Interpol, the list has their current locations. Our intelligence says LeMark has it. And that Rumlow id on the list.”  
  
Amy glared at him in mock offence. “You’re just using me for my safe cracking skills.”  
  
“Don’t be like that sweetheart. You know you’re more than a convenient way into a vault.” Steve slid his hands around her hips and over the small of her back, feeling what felt like six knives in the process.  
  
“Are we breaking into a bank or are you two making out?” Dai asked closing the door to the suite behind him.  
  
Amy sighed and hopped off the dresser and out of Steve’s arms. She hooked two flashlights out of the gear filled garment bag. “Bank first.”  
  
Dai settled himself at the table with two laptops and a tablet in front of him. “Hallway is clear if you go now.”  
  
Amy bumped her fist against his and headed for the door.  
  
*****  
  
Steve stuck to Amy’s shoulder as she jogged down towards the hotel's service stair. He started up only to realise she was headed in the opposite direction. Down and down. Past the basement service areas, into a limestone cellar.  
  
There was a painted steel door tucked in the back corner. Half hidden behind a stack of wine crates. Amy picked the old padlock that held it shut and Steve wrenched it open with a squeal of rusty hinges.  
  
Steve gazed down the log dark passage beyond the door. Rough limestone wall covered in graffiti. The graffiti was new, but the tunnel was very old. Old enough that they had been half forgotten the last time he had used them. “The catacombs?”  
  
“I hate trying to get across Paris on the surface.” Amy said starting into the darkness without turning on the flashlight.  
  
“I guess I always pictured you as a rooftops kind of girl.” Steve closed the door behind them and fell into step with her. He set his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t seem to be hesitating at all despite the near total darkness.  
  
“In most cities I am.” Amy said passing him a flashlight. She really shouldn’t take people into the field without Dai to remind her to use her manners. She always forgot that other people couldn’t see as well as she could in the dark. “But Paris has such a lovely underground.”  
  
With the light turned on Steve and Amy fell into an easy jog. Amy seemed to know exactly where to go. Never slowing or missing a single turn. Down a level. Along a long gallery. Descend two more levels down a rickety ladder. Squeeze through a narrow crack in the rock. Up a metal staircase roughly bolted to one wall, that Steve suspected had been installed by the Luftwaffe. Balance along a reinforcing beam over a smooth subterranean lake. Passed walls covered in decades of graffiti. Duck into a side tunnel to avoid a group of teens on their way to a rave.  
  
Up a final staircase and straight into the back of a steel door. The door was almost completely smooth on their side. No handle or hinges, the only blemish was a ragged square of welding outlining the back of the lock.  
  
Amy levered the back of the lock case off and shone her flashlight into the mechanism. Behind her Steve leaned against the wall. A comforting presence that reassured her that she didn’t have to split her attention. She could focus on the task at hand without worrying that someone or something would sneak up on her. She fished out her lock picks and poked at the pins.  
  
Steve watched her work. Something had been bothering Steve since they had left the hotel. This probably wasn’t the right time to ask. But he needed to know. “So, you and Brian dated.”  
  
“No. Dating implies all sorts of emotional connection and mutual expectations that neither of us ever had. We did sleep together on and off for about five years. He was the first guy I slept with after…” Amy blinked away the memory of blood on tile and phantom ache in her abdomen that surfaced. She didn’t need to think about that particular day right now. “After my incidence. He helped me through a rough patch.”  
  
Dai snorted loudly in their ears. Their radio was transmitting again. And Dai evidently had issues with Amy downplaying her predicament to Steve. “That is an understatement. He stopped you from imploding when your powers went haywire.”  
  
“Okay yeah, that.” Amy huffed. She hated thinking about her lose of control almost as much as she hated thinking about what she had done to cause the loss of control. “I lost control. Basically, every straight male that came within ten feet of me ended up affected. I picked up on what they were feeling, they picked up what I was projecting. It caused a feedback loop. It was pushing me back towards the edge. Brian can counteract me when he has Excalibur with him. The only other person I know who can break my hold early is… you.”  
  
Amy sighed and refocused her attention on the lock in front of her. “Great Grandmother Amaterasu thought it was a good idea for me to stay with him until I had myself under control. Grandmother agreed. When Grandmother says jump. I jump. I liked England. I ended up staying for the better part of a year. Dai moved over to be with me. He found me a therapist, who is still my therapist. Fredrick’s label took off. I picked up a degree from Cambridge while I was there, probably my favorite doctorate.”  
  
“The one on me?” Steve asked tickling her neck. He didn’t like the way her shoulders had slumped during that explanation. His girl deserved a life of happiness and ease, so far that wasn’t what she’d had. He would work on that.  
  
“Mmm.” Amy tipped her head into his hand. She adored that touch. She also enjoyed teasing him. And she had exactly the right ammunition for teasing him on this. “The one that’s not on you. Ahh, Sergeant Barnes. My first academic love. I have a soft spot for snipers you know.”  
  
“So do I.” Steve smiled at her in the dark. He couldn’t remember why he had worried in the first place. She was hard to the world at large, but she was soft with him. The pretty Duke wasn’t a threat. He seemed happy with Sam. Amy was happy with him. And when they found Bucky they would figure that out too.  
  
“You two are so sweet together it makes me sick.” Dai chuckled over the radio. It was good to hear Amy communicating. It would be even better to see her safely back in the hotel and communicating. “You’re clear to move.”  
  
*****  
  
Paribas Private Bank occupied a Haussmanian row house in the heart of the financial district. The entrance to a moderately sized safe was just visible through a door at the far end of the service corridor they had emerged into. Paribas focused on financial services for the super rich. They kept very little cash on hand day to day. The safe was an after thought. The banks main focus were the plushly appointed offices and suites with safety deposit boxes that occupied most of the building. Four floors of safety deposit boxes. 1000 boxes per floor.  
  
Their safety deposit boxes on the third floor of boxes. Which was actually the fifth floor of the bank. The lower floors were offices and conference rooms. Not something most people would know. Unless they had a box here themselves. Which Amy did.  
  
Amy scanned the grand staircase spiralling up from the central hall. Good they hadn’t upgraded security since she’d been here last. She pulled the mask over her face. It was time to get to work. “Alright. Stairs are alarmed, but the middle isn’t. Give me a boost.”  
  
Steve nodded. Getting Amy up to the fifth floor was easy. But that was only half the battle. “How do I get up?”  
  
“Can you pick an eight-pin lock in under a minuet?” Amy asked. She knew he wanted to protect her, but in this situation, it was impractical and would only put her in more danger. He would see that if he thought logically instead of just with his instincts.  
  
“No.”  
  
“Do you know where all the sensors and cameras are?”  
  
“No…” He didn’t like where this was going.  
  
Amy saw a crack in his façade. He was starting to think. “Any idea what exactly we are looking for?”  
  
Steve sighed. They were all very good points. “I’m waiting here, aren’t I?”  
  
“And watching for police.” Amy said patting him on the shoulder and stepping back, so she had enough distance for a run up. “Back in five. Trigger an alarm if anything happens.”  
  
“What do I do if you trigger an alarm?” These were the things they should have been discussing on the way here. But he had wanted to chat about their love life instead. If anything happened because they were under prepared, he would never forgive himself.  
  
Amy ginned behind her mask. It was almost sweet the way he worried. “I don’t trigger alarms.”  
  
Steve sighed and cupped his hands. Being overprotective of Amy was a waste of time. And if she did trigger an alarm there was no reason, he couldn’t take the stairs to get to her.  
  
Amy took two running steps and leapt, letting Steve catapult her into the air. She snagged one of the balusters and pulled herself over the railing. Avoiding all the cameras and sensors with ease.  
  
A cold lump formed in Steve’s stomach as she disappeared into the dark. He could tell himself not to worry all he wanted. He had lost her on a mission once, and he couldn’t help an irrational fear that it would happen again. For all this was less dangerous than that had been.  
  
*****  
  
Box 3304 was low on the back wall of the room, almost tucked into the corner. Amy smiled to herself. LeMark had so much to learn. If you didn’t want people to get into your safety deposit box, you needed one in the middle of the long wall. Low in the corner might seem more covert, but they were just begging to be opened. From here she was even hidden if anyone looked in the door. Not that they would. The night watchman was currently unconscious in a broom closet thanks to a little something Natasha had given her.  
  
She balanced the pouch with her lock picks on her knee and started on the lock.  
  
*****  
  
Steve resisted the urge to pace. Amy would be fine. She had done this sort of thing before. Five minutes was nothing. He didn’t need to start worrying for another, he checked his watch, 217 seconds. He could check on their overwatch at least. That was even part of his job. “Night, what’s our status?”  
  
“All clear and on schedule.” Dai said evenly.  
  
“And Vixen?” Steve asked, staring up at the last place he had seen her.  
  
“Vixen can hear you and is doing her job.” Came Amy’s dry reply.  
  
Steve let out a long breath. Some day he was going to have to get over worrying about her, but today was not that day. He backed up until he could see the light from passing cars on the lobby ceiling above him. Watching for the police, just like she had asked him to. Nothing was going to happen.  
  
*****  
  
Four and a half minutes after she had left Amy landed back next to Steve. Silent as ever. B- work, she could have shaved almost a full minute off if she’d had more time for reconnaissance. And she'd cracked the case when she'd switched the USB's chip. Still it should be good enough work. She could relax for the night.  
  
She squeezed his forearm and tapped her transmit button again. “We’re going dark again. Don’t wait up.”  
  
Back in the catacombs, Steve let out a loud laugh. It had been nothing. His perfect Amy, she had collected the list from one of the most secure vaults on the continent as easily as she picked up her dry-cleaning. She laughed with him. The sound echoing around the stone tunnel and brightening the entire space.  
  
Steve grabbed Amy’s hand and pulled her close. “God. You are amazing.”  
  
“Goddess.” Amy corrected leaning against his side.  
  
“Goddess.” Steve agreed kissing the side of her head.


	42. Goodnight Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would recomend putting on Steve and Amy's song for this chapter. Goodnight Moon by Go Radio.

Back in the suite Amy checked that the party was truly over before they tumbled into bed together. Neither bothering with more than striping to their underwear before tangling their limbs together. Amy had intended to seduce Steve when they got back to the hotel, but with a cool pillow under her head and Steve’s warm bulk at her back to her it was proving very difficult to stay awake. His presence was amazingly comforting, and her recent sleepless nights were catching up with her. She let the feel of his arms around her and the cool breeze from the window kill her to sleep.  
  
Steve hummed softly and nuzzled the back of her neck. He loved when Amy was his little spoon. She fit so perfectly against his chest. He could already hear her heartbeat and breathing slowing. He could feel sleep creeping up on him too and wished, not for the first time, that they could have this on a regular basis.  
  
Both of them settled into a deep and dreamless rest. Safe in each other’s arms.  
  
*****  
  
A soft tapping and a creak broke through the silence of the night.  
  
Amy’s eyes flashed open. She hadn’t locked the door. She had had been so focused on getting Steve into bed, she _hadn’t locked the door_. What was she an amateur? She hadn’t made this sort of mistake since she was a love-struck teenager. The warm arm circling her waist contracted. Oh. Right.  
  
The door creaked again a thin sliver of light from the main room cutting across the foot of the bed. “Aims?”  
  
Amy sighed and pulled her hand back from the edge of the mattress and the knife she had stashed there. Not a threat. “What do you want?”  
  
Brian slipped all the way into the room. “Do you have a condom? I only had one on me.”  
  
Amy rubbed her face in frustration. “My gear bag's in the corner.”  
  
“You’re the best.” Brian froze. Noticing for the first time how Amy was curled in the bed and the way her hair was mussed on just one side. “Were you asleep?”  
  
“What if I was?” Amy glared at him. For the first time in weeks she had been in REM sleep without any nightmares.  
  
“You do realise there is someone else in the room, right?” Brian looked pointedly at the large man still half curled around Amy.  
  
“Someone else who was also asleep.” Steve grumbled pulling a pillow over his face.  
  
“Right, sorry. Let me just...” Brian rummaged through the bag in the corner, coming up with a handful of metallic foil squares and slowly edging out of the room with another apologetic nod.  
  
“Would it be unfair of me to make Sam run laps for this?” Steve asked shoving the pillow away and dragging Amy into his arms instead. It had been more of a nap than anything else, but he felt more rested after a couple of hours with Amy then a full night’s sleep on his own.  
  
“It would definitely not be unfair to make Sam run laps for waking us up.” Amy ran her fingers and down his spine. He wouldn’t actually do it. Or he would, but not as a form of vengeance. He would make Sam run laps, might even tell him they were revenge laps, but only because Sam needed to be in peak condition.  
  
Steve relaxed under her touch. That was his girl. Always supportive. “You don’t think this was some kind of revenge for the whole being in love with Bucky thing, do you?”  
  
“He still hasn’t come to terms with you being in love with a guy who almost killed you all?” Amy lengthened her strokes. That was something that had obviously been bothering him. He loved Sam like a brother. His disapproval would grate on Steve.  
  
“Not even remotely.” Steve sighed and pressed his face into Amy’s shoulder. Sam had emailed him a PowerPoint presentation titled _ Reasons Not To Date A Brainwashed Assassin Who Has Been Avoiding You For A Year And A Half_. The fifth slide had been _Have You Talked To Your S.H.I.E.L.D. Appointed Therapist This We?: An investigation of independent metal stability._ At least Amy understood why he was in love with Bucky. Really she was the only other person who’s opinion on it mattered. If she could understand why he was in love with Bucky and with her then he couldn’t be completely wrong for doing it . “Do you think he’s alright?”  
  
“Sam? I know for a fact that he is in very good hands.” Amy lay back against the pillows. It was tempting to seduce him now that they were awake. It was also tempting to wrap herself around him and go back to sleep. It was a hard choice given their limited time, both tonight and in general.  
  
Steve flipped Amy on top of him. “Bucky. What do you think he’s doing right now?”  
  
Amy sat back on his hips, linking their fingers together. He worried so much about the people he loved. It must be killing him to know so little about what Bucky was doing. “I bet he is laying on a beach in Nicaragua, soaking in the sun and enjoying being warm.”  
  
“You’re just saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear.” Steve kissed their interlaced fingers. It did sound nice. He almost wished that he and Amy were on that beach too. Basking in the warm sun, safe from extradition or persecution. If he closed his eyes, he could see Amy rubbing sunscreen into Bucky’s back, here Bucky’s soft rumbling voice as he complained that her hands were cold. It was an impossible fantasy, but he would admit he liked imaging it.  
  
Amy stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. “I’m sure he is somewhere safe. You know what our work is like, he probably spends 90% of his time doing research and reconnaissance. Any given day it is a safe bet he is sitting in bed in his underwear, drinking coffee, and reading through documents on a laptop.”  
  
Steve pulled her head down and kissed her. Now that was a good fantasy. Even better if he kept letting himself imagine all three of them together. “Is that why you never do reconnaissance around me?”  
  
“You get distracted and then I get distracted. It’s never as productive as it should be.” Amy laughed. Those blue eyes were impossible to resist when they sparkled like that. She would do almost anything for those eyes.  
  
“Bucky would get distracted by you too.” Steve slipped his hands under her shirt. It was such a pretty picture. The three of them with their own little apartment somewhere. Bucky would sit Amy in his lap, run his fingers over her skin. They would tease each other and him until he couldn’t take it anymore and tackled them both trying to kiss as much of their skin as possible. They would tangle together in a mass of limbs and laughter and he would fall asleep happy and exhausted between the two of them.  
  
Amy stomach fluttered. He was so in love. She wondered if he realised exactly how in love he was. If he knew how his face lit up when he thought about Bucky. She could feel how his body reacted to just the idea of Bucky in bed. She was a lucky girl if he loved her even half as much. “Oh?”  
  
“Let me show you.” Steve flipped them over, so he had her trapped against the bed. It was an impossible fantasy. He would keep it a little longer. Amy would forgive him for having it. His sweet girl would forgive him anything.  
  
Amy met his kiss with a surge. He did love her. Not as much as he loved his Bucky. But he loved her. She needed that love. Needed as many of these moments as she could get, before he got his Bucky back and realised, she was a poor second choice.


	43. Bucky’s Okay…ish…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I know you've all been wondering what our favorite brainwashed assassin has been up to.

Lights went off like flash bulbs behind Bucky’s eyes. His hand jerked and his mug crumbled as the metal tightened around the ceramic.  
  
Bucky swore and grabbed his computer. The last thing he needed was to have to replace another laptop. Computers were useful and he didn’t want to do without, but they were expensive. It upset his depression sensibilities to drop that much cash as often as he’d had to lately. His mother had raised him better than that. At least he was about 90 percent sure she had. He also didn’t want to waste his time running around Europe trying to get more cash from the banks without raising suspicions. He’d spent almost four month dodging withdrawal limits to get cash for the year, he didn’t have time to do it again.  
  
He looked over the laptop to make sure it was alright. The clock in the bottom right corner caught his attention. 10:52. It couldn’t be 10:52. When he had sat down it was 10:30. He touched the brown stain spreading over his shirt. It was barely warm. He should have noticed right away. The mug had been empty when he broke it. He had lost almost a half hour.  
  
What had he been doing for than last twenty minuets?  
  
This was one of the benefits of computers. They kept a record. When he didn’t manage to clear his history during one of his attacks at least. Which somehow, he was very good at. It took him hours to figure out how to do anything on the machine when he was lucid, when he wasn’t in his right mind, he was apparently a wiz.  
  
Today it looked like he hadn’t deleted anything. It looked. Like he hadn’t done… anything… in the last twenty minuets. He hadn’t even closed the article he’d been reading. He checked the notebook he always kept by the bed. Nothing new in it either. Had he just been sitting here for twenty minuets?  
  
A quick visual inspection of the apartment showed nothing had moved. Other than his bed being rumpled and covered in coffee, nothing had moved. Even in his shoes were in the right place. He hadn’t left the bed.  
  
He took a deep breath and rolled off the mattress. Everything was fine. If he hadn’t moved, he hadn’t done anything bad. It was strange that the Soldier had just sat here. Strange, but not unwelcome. He could live with losing time if he didn’t do anything during the time.  
  
He pealed off the damp shirt and tossed it into a pile of other clothes. He was going to have to do laundry. Which meant he was going to have to go out. Order of operations. He needed a shower and to eat something. Then he could think about getting dressed and dragging himself to the laundry mat.  
  
He grabbed a meal replacement bar from the kitchen. If he ever had to find a different primary safe house, he was going to find one with in suite laundry. Having to bundle everything up and drag it twenty blocks was a hole in his security. He didn’t like having that kind of vulnerability. He finished the bar in three bites. These were another modern invention he appreciated. All the nutrients he needed in an easy to consume package.  
  
In suite laundry and a better bathroom. He’d taken this one because it was reasonably secure without sacrificing egress, and the terracotta walls were reassuringly non-institutional. He hadn’t even looked at the bathroom before he’d signed the lease. He should have. It was the most depressing room he had ever been in… Top five at least. Cracked and tarnished mirror. A sink that rattled every time he wanted hot water. Which was always. He didn’t need cold water in his life anymore. Yellow tiles missing most of their grout in a shower that was always dark.  
  
He had tried to cheer the place up as best he could. Fluffy bright white towels. Shampoo and soap that smelled good and didn’t remind him of anything. A plush bathmat that felt good when he sank his toes into it. A printout from a gossip website taped in the top corner of the mirror. Steve at a big formal event. What mattered to Bucky was that he was smile and laughing, one arm _Ryzhiy_ the other around the little Fox. According to the quote attached to the article he had written a book. All three of them looked happy, healthy, and safe. The little Fox had said they were all friends. They defiantly looked friendly. He double checked the hand on _Ryzhiy’s_ shoulder. Just friendly. Good. He didn’t know what he would do if his best friend started sleeping with his little girl.  
  
He shed his sweatpants and cranked the hot water in the dingy shower. Grabbed two codeine tablets out the medicine cabinet while he waited for the mirror to start to fog up. Everything was sore, liked he’d spent the missing twenty minuets running flat out.  
Hot water was a glorious thing. Bucky tipped his head back into the spray. The bathroom might be depressing, but there was nothing wrong with the water pressure. Or the soap. Soft soap that lathered into luxurious bubbles and smelled like summer grass. Rich man’s soap, or it had been, now it was the third cheapest at the store.  
  
Drying his hair on a thick fluffy towel, Bucky pulled a tube of cream out of the medicine cabinet. This was the part where he almost wished he had a roommate. The cream helped keep his scars from chafing, but could never quite reach the middle of his back.  
  
His eyes found the photo on the mirror again. Steve smiling. Steve would definitely help him get lotion on his scars. Dark eyes smirked knowingly at him. He glared back at the little Fox. “I’m not looking at him like that. You’re looking at him like that.”  
  
His brain supplied him with a snappy response to that. _Yeah. Can you blame me?_  
  
He wasn’t sure when he had decided the Fox was dryly sarcastic when she wasn’t about to die. It seemed to fit though. Even if his mental creation occasionally knew too much. That made sense too, she was inside his head after all. “No, pretty girl, I can’t. And I can’t blame him for looking back when you’re wearing that dress.” He could almost see the picture wink back at that. He had liked flirting. Back when he was Sargent James Barnes. He still liked the idea of flirting. Even if his only sparing partner was a photo of a pretty girl who may or may not be on a date with his best friend.  
  
_Oh? I’m the only person you have these pretend conversations with? There’s no one else?_ The laughing voice sounded in his head again.  
  
“I don’t flirt with Steve. I banter. It’s different.” Bucky kept his voice calm and firm as he glared down the photo. He knew the entire conversation was happening in his head. But it had been a rough morning and he wasn’t particularly in the mood for introspection.  
  
*****  
  
Technically this wasn’t the closest laundry mat. There was one four blocks from his apartment, but there was no way to avoid having your back to the big plate glass window when you were loading the dryer. This one had all the machines in lines perpendicular to the windows and folding tables that faced them. Which were not floor to ceiling since it was in the basement. It also had a back exit that let out in an alley that was too narrow for a van. And maybe he was just vane enough to appreciate the way the cute attendant smiled at him when he got his change.  
  
Bucky liked doing laundry. It was reassuring. The same way cleaning his gun was reassuring or doing his morning push ups was reassuring. Repetitive. Domestic. Productive. Normal. He also liked having soft clean clothes and blankets that weren’t musty. He matched a pair of socks and watched the foot traffic go by the windows.  
  
His mind wandered as he worked. He hadn’t gone shopping this morning. Which meant there was no real food in his apartment. He’d had one meal replacement bar already today and was trying to limit his intake when he wasn’t in the field. He didn’t want to become reliant on them. He could get take out. Lots of places offered it these days. And he could spend his evening lounging on the couch watching cooking shows.  
  
He liked cooking shows. They were soothing. And they were teaching him all sorts of useful things about what foods were available these days. Ogling tomatoes in December made him stand out. He didn’t want to stand out. That’s what he would do. He would stop at his favorite café on the way back to his apartment, pick up something tasty and nutritious, then spend the evening relaxing and learning about the many uses of avocado.  
  
Next week he needed to get back in the field. He still had a mission to complete. His file on the Minister was about as complete as it was going to be until he actually got boots on the ground and looked around. He hated being in the field without back up. He pushed away the part of his mind that told him he could do something about that. It sounded disturbingly like the little Fox.


	44. Good Mornings All Around

Sunrise on Sam's skin was easily the most hypnotic thing Brain had ever seen. Honey warm light gilding his profile. Brian rolled onto his side, propping his head on a hand to he could keep watching the best part of his morning in comfort. “What are you thinking?”  
  
“How the hell can Steve be in love with Bucky?”  
  
“I suppose if you have to think about other men while we’re in bed, neither of them is a bad option.” Brian laughed and kissed the golden glow on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m a little disappointed you don’t find me more distracting though. Shall I try again? I might need some water first.”  
  
“This is the second time this year Amy has saved our bacon. None of us would have been able to pull this off without her. We would have been stuck waiting a week for Nat. Who knows what would have happened in that much time? She’s got that whole ineffably gorgeous thing that makes straight guys go crazy for her. Hell, she’s sexy enough that _I_ kissed her, and I don’t swing that way at all.”  
  
“You kissed the goddess? Tell me everything. Was it filthy? Was the Captain there?” Brian kissed lower on Sam’s chest playfully. There was a lot to unpack in what he had just said, and he wasn’t sure now was the time for unpacking. Flirting was more fun. “No. Wait. Don’t tell me. I’m going to let my imagination run wild with it.”  
  
Sam shoved Brian so he flopped onto his back on the mattress. “I’m serious. How can he be in love with someone else? And how can she just be fine with the fact he is?”  
  
“Wait.” Brian’s brow furrowed. That complicated things even more. The Ayame he knew was unlikely to be okay with the person she was with being in love with someone else. “She knows? He told her?”  
  
Sam lay back and rubbed his eyes. “He says he did, and she didn’t seem surprised when I asked about it.”  
  
Brian laced his fingers through Sam's and squeezed softly. “That’s… that a tough one.”  
  
“Sorry to bring you down. It’s just been bothering me. Sleeping with one person while you’re in love with someone else… it’s just…” Sam trailed off. He didn’t even know how to explain it. Ethically questionable? A player move? Only Steve always took his ethics seriously, and he was anything but a player. Sam had to admit Steve was absolutely devoted to Amy. They had to be making it work somehow even if he didn’t see it.  
  
“Are you in love with someone else?” Brian kissed the knuckles of their linked hands. He wouldn’t blame Sam if he had more than a crush on the Captain. Steve seemed sweet and if he'd managed to win over Ayame enough that she was willing to _sleep_ around him, he had to be everything people thought he was and more.  
  
Sam laughed and rolled on top of Brian. No, he wasn’t in love with anyone else. He didn’t even know if he loved Brian yet. But he thought he could. Brain just _got_ him. “What makes you think I love you?”  
  
Brian smirked up at him. That sounded like a challenge. He let his hands roam over Sam's sculpted body. He never could resist a challenge. “I’m very loveable. Plus, I own a castle, you Yanks all find the old piles inexplicably sexy.”  
  
“You’re a jerk.” Sam grumbled, doing his best not to melt into the wandering hands.  
  
“And yet here you are.” Brian pulled Sam's head down and kissed him thoroughly. Yes, he definitely loved a challenge.  
  
*****  
  
Sunlight poured in the window the next time Steve woke. Warm and soft on his skin. He hoped Amy was right, that Bucky had the same sun to warm him. She was probably right. His girl usually was. And she was here. No matter what he couldn’t set aside the fact that she had wanted him with her as soon as she was back, and Bucky was still avoiding him almost three years later.  
  
He could feel her pressed against him now. Tucked into the shelter of his back like he could protect her from the world. Not that she let him do much protecting when she was awake, but when she was asleep his girl always seemed so delicate. What was it her Aunt had said? The way she had been tempered made her sharp but brittle. Well he was strong but had a bad habit of acting like a blunt instrument. Maybe together they balanced out.  
  
There was a creak outside the bedroom. The sound of low voices in the suite’s kitchen. Not the sounds of people sneaking. The rest of their party must be up and moving around. He was pretty sure their lazy morning in bed wasn’t going to last.  
  
He turned to see Amy, eyes opened and fixed on the door. “There are people.”  
  
“Sounds that way.” Steve ran his hand along Amy’s arm. Balanced. That’s what they were. Perfectly balanced when they were together. “We should get up.”  
  
Amy sighed. He was right. As much as she wished they could shut out the world a little longer she technically still had work to do. And she knew her friends. “If we don’t, they’ll just come in here.”  
  
Putting on clothes around Amy was a terrible use of time. Steve had said it before, and he was forcibly reminded of the fact as he lay on the end of the bed and watched her fish things out of her suitcase. Getting himself dressed had been easy. His pants and undershirt had ended on the floor next to the bed and pulling them on had taken seconds. Amy had access to clean clothes and was taking her sweet time selecting an outfit. Artfully ripped jeans that struck him as impractical on other people and on her somehow made him grateful of another glimpse of skin. A shirt that had little to no structure until she put it on, where it still had no structure but somehow hinted at all her curves and showed off the back of her lacy brallet temptingly. Brallets were a magical modern invention. The way their soft lace looked against Amy’s skin was almost better than her in nothing. Almost.  
  
Who was he kidding? They weren’t getting out of here without him kissing her at least one more time.  
  
Steve curled his hands into her hair. Pressing her against the wall, he kissed her until she was breathless. This was how he wanted to spend every morning. He wanted to always be _almost_ late for his first meeting because he was too busy kissing her. He wanted to come back to _ their_ rooms at the end of the day and find her waiting for him. He wanted her beside him for the rest of his life. “Come home with me.”  
  
“Steve.” Amy moaned as he kissed her neck. She knew she couldn’t. It was talking an awful lot of her available brain power to remember _why_ she couldn’t. “You know I want to. I have to work. We have royal stuff all month. I shouldn’t have left for this long. If it hadn’t been time sensitive…”  
  
“Three days.” Steve wheedled. “A long weekend. We just stopped a major security leak and gained invaluable information on several highly wanted targets. Don’t we deserve a long weekend? In fact, let’s not go back to the compound. Let’s get on a train and just ride it until we find somewhere pretty to stop. Then we’ll get off the train find a hotel and not explore the pretty place at all.” The way she clutched her at his shirt and pressed back into him was only spurring him on. Forget home. He didn’t want to share her with anyone. They couldn’t have forever. Yet. He wanted to soak in as much of her as he could in the time they could have.  
  
Amy groaned and pressed her face into his chest. It sounded heavenly. The two of them. No responsibilities. “You are by far the biggest temptation in my life.”  
  
“Still a no?” Steve knew the answer, he couldn’t resist smiling anyway.  
  
She smoothed her hands down his sides. They both had responsibilities. “I have to go home and stop the Hand from interrupting Kiki reading to sick children, and you have meeting with the EU security council in 36 hours.”  
  
“Sometimes the way you just know things is infuriating.” Steve tipped her head up and kissed her again.  
  
*****  
  
Amy wrapped Steve’s arm around her shoulders like a blanket and dragged both of them into the main room of the suite. Dai, Fredrick, Dane, Brian, and Sam were all clustered in and around the kitchen. “Hello people in my room that I did not invite. I hate you all.”  
  
Dai pushed a mug along the counter towards her. “I made coffee.”  
  
Amy picked up the cup and inhaled the welcome scent. “Good morning Dai. I don’t hate you.”  
  
“Dane is making Falza's shashuka.” Brian said without looking up from his newspaper. The headline didn’t say anything about a break in at the bank which was promising. Unfortunately, the headline was more fear mongering about migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the upcoming elections. If the world could calm down and stick to one crisis at a time, he would deeply appreciate it. That was unlikely though. Thanks to their line of work they would forever be playing catch-up.  
  
“Okay Dai and Dane if his cooking is as good as his wife’s. I hate the rest of you.” Amy relented taking a seat at the bar.  
  
Steve took the chair next to her, draping his arm along the back of her seat. His Amy hated morning, but she loved breakfast. He was glad these people knew to feed her. Although he wouldn’t have minded having to take her out for breakfast in Paris.  
  
“Hate us all you want.” Dane said leaning against the counter across from her. He had obviously been up well before the rest of them to get a run in. He’d kicked his running shoes off at the door of the suite and rolled the sleeves of his long-sleeved exercise shirt to the elbow. “Did you get it?”  
  
Amy tossed the thumb drive to him with an eye roll. Of course, she had it. Did he seriously think she would sleep with Steve or let Dai call it a night if she hadn’t completed her mission? Dane knew her better than that.  
  
Dane plugged it into a laptop and quickly decrypted the contents. “Shit. They had everything. I can’t believe you bloody got it.”  
  
“I can’t believe you doubted my ability to get it.” Amy stretched luxuriously. There was nothing quite like sleeping next to her boy to ensure a good night’s rest. Even just a few hours next to him had been amazing. She could have used a few more. Next time. Just now she was technically working and on a timeline. “Hey Dai?”  
  
Dai grinned into his cup of coffee. He knew that tone. Amy was about to win her bet with Dane. “Yes, my beloved cousin?”  
  
“What time is it?” Amy asked as innocently as she could manage. Which was not as innocently as it should have been. She needed to work on not gloating around the Brits. They just made it so easy. Dane especially.  
  
Dai pretended to check his watch, like he didn’t know exactly what time it was and why she was asking. “It appears to be 10:33 Grenitch mean time.”  
  
Amy made an exaggerated expression of shock. “Why that’s…”  
  
“Less than 24 hours since they called us?” Dai said with a long drink of coffee. “Yes, I believe it was.”  
  
“And you know what that means?” A wicked grin stretched slowly across Amy’s face. Oh, winning did feel good. Even better when no one had to get hurt for her to win.  
  
Dane sighed and retrieved the knife that had been sitting at the end of the counter. A Fairbairn-Skyes dagger, normally a dull brass coloured hilt with a steel blade, this one had been carefully oiled so the whole thing was a soft mat black, only the cutting edges gleaming metallically in the kitchen lights. “I had hoped you’d forget.”  
  
“I don’t forget things.” Amy sing songed wiggling her fingers at him imploringly. “You lost the bet. Pay up.”  
  
Dane flipped the dagger in his hand, so he was holding the tip of the blade. He kissed the hilt before slapping it into Amy’s palm. “Take good care of it. It isn’t easy to get the patina that dark and even.”  
  
Amy spun the black blade between her fingers. “It will make a perfect addition to my collection. Thank you, BK.”  
  
“BK?” Steve whispered into her ear.  
  
“Black Knight. It’s his call sign.” Amy whispered back, making the knife walk over her knuckles.  
  
“Why are we friends?” Dane grumbled turning to fish a large skillet out of the oven.  
  
“Because your wife and I both adore her.” Brain said discarding his paper in favour or scanning the files on Dane's laptop. He had warned Dane not to wager anything he didn’t want to give up. Ayame didn’t lose. A knife was a small price to pay for her help. She would have demanded a no questions asked favour from most people. Not that he and Dane didn’t technically owe her a few of those. So far, he was paying her back by letting her use his NATO login. Which seemed fair. It was _one_ minor life-threatening medical incident in Kandahar… and that thing in Azerbaijan…. And the cell in Nice…. And the Lake District…. And the time she’d made him break up with the girlfriend who turned out to be a honey trap… Okay, he would admit he owe Ayame a fair amount.  
  
“Easy for you to say, Captain Britain.” Dane snorted but set the first plate of steaming eggs in front of Ayame.  
Sam blushed and cleared his throat. He had hoped Steve wouldn't find out that particular detail.  
  
  
Amy made the knife vanish and pulled the plate towards her. Breakfast looked delicious. Steve was running a finger under her bra strap absently. His touch leaving a line of tingling warmth on her back. She would break into a bank every night if it meant she got this kind of treatment in the morning.  
  
“Send us a copy of those files?” Sam asked resting his chin on Brain’s shoulder so her could see the screen too. It really was everything. Thank God Amy had come to their rescue.  
  
Brain kissed Sam’s temple. “All ready sent, flyboy.”  
  
Steve inhaled a lung full of the rich sent rising off Amy’s eggs. It was a blend he didn’t quite recognise. “Those smell good. Will I like them?”  
  
“They’re spicy.” Amy offered him a bite off her fork.  
  
They were spicy. Spicy, earthy, and delicious. Steve made an appreciative noise and scooted his chair closer, stealing the fork out of her hand. The little taste had reminded him that he was slightly ravenous.  
  
Amy leaned into the curve of his arm letting him have most of the eggs as she chatted with Dai. Occasionally nudging him for a bight of her own. He needed the calories more than she did, she always worried he didn’t eat properly when they were apart.  
  
Dane froze halfway through dishing more plates of eggs. Ayame was sharing food with someone. Ayame had let someone sit with an arm around her, an arm tight enough around her that Steve could trap her if he really wanted to. She wasn’t even watching him. Her attention was entirely on her cousin except when she was letting him bring a metal fork towards her face to feed her. “Sweet mother of-. The goddess trusts someone other than Daisuki.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes, she trusted a number of people other than Dai, Dane himself for one… most of the time. “You make it sound like- Would you stop poking me.” She snapped batting away the spoon that had been prodding her elbow.  
  
“Sorry,” Dane tapped his spoon against the counter with a grin. “Just want to be sure you’re really you. Recent evidence has brought it into question.”  
  
“If you two can’t play nicely I will put you both in time out.” Brian chided, without looking up from the computer. There were so many MI5 and 6 agents on the list that hadn’t been weeded out already. He and Dane were going to be stuck in the UK for month confirming things.  
  
Dane relented. Shoving a second plate towards Ayame and Steve as a peace offering. Everyone else was served and found somewhere to eat. Sam perched on the counter one foot on Brian’s chair. Dane leaned against the far counter. Dai and Fredrick sat at the bar with Steve and Amy, knees pressed together and Fredrick’s free hand on Dai’s knee. Conversation centred mostly on what they should do about the recovered information and estimates on how long they had before everything on the drive was out of date.  
  
About an hour into the debated Dai checked his watch and jerked his head at the door. Amy nodded. She downed the last of her coffee and disappeared into the bedroom. Steve sighed and set down his own mug. Their morning had come to an end. Dai and Frederick made some quick goodbyes and left to pack up the second suite.  
  
Amy emerged moments later wearing a tan leather jacket, with her purse dangling from one elbow and her suitcase in her other hand.  
  
“Alright children. I’ve got to get to work. I haven’t checked out. My card is on file. Don’t abuse my trust.” She went around and gave everyone except Steve air kisses on each cheek. She stopped in front of Steve. He deserved a more involved goodbye. She didn’t particularly feel like shoving her tongue down his throat in front of the people who had been teasing her about how attached she was to him all morning.  
  
Steve stood and took Amy’s bag from her. “I’ll walk you out.”  
  
*****  
  
Waiting for the elevator was a form of torture Amy decided. Feeling the last precious seconds with Steve before she had to leave him again for who knew how long slip away. At least a month, unless there was another emergency that got them both in the same place at the same time. It was very wrong of her to hope for some kind of major terrorist plot or a Winter Soldier sighting. Just like it was wrong for her to have stolen these last few hours. She could have handed over the file and been back in Japan before morning there, let alone morning here.  
  
Self care isn’t selfish. She reminded herself. It was one of her therapist’s favourite things to tell her. That taking time to make sure she was in a good place mentally was work too. She wasn’t letting things slip she was prioritising mental health. Her time with Steve was good for her, and that was good for the world at large. Even her Aunts approved. Although they might just be hoping to get babies out of the pair of them.  
  
Steve’s mind seemed to be in a similar place to hers judging by the way his hand was fisted in the leather of her jacket as if he was resisting the urge to reel her in and crush her against him. A silly thing to be resisting really in Amy’s opinion. They were alone in the hall. And even if they did get caught, what was the harm in anyone seeing them? They had just, rather publicly, spent the night together after all. There was no continuity error to him kissing her goodbye. She turned into the arm holding her, pressing their fronts together. That was better, she could take the memory of the way they fit together home with her, and she knew he wouldn’t forget it either. With any luck they could both dream about this tonight instead of any of the bad things.  
  
“I’ll call you when I land.” Amy whispered, stroking her fingers over the soft cotton covering his chest. She didn’t want to have to call him when she landed. She wanted to take him up on his runaway for the weekend plan. She couldn’t if the Hand got a hold of Kiki…. It wasn’t just that she was married to the heir of the oldest continually occupied throne on this planet. She would also make a particularly tempting sacrifice for someone looking to summon one of the nastier demons. And they were in the window of summoning those demons. Amy would prefer to stop them before they got their hands on her rather than play catch up. She had taken all the time she reasonably could.  
  
Steve cupped her face and kissed her long and deep. He wished she wasn’t always right. But she was. To an irritating degree she was. Neither of them could just randomly disappear for an extended period of time. They would get caught. People would ask questions he didn’t have answers to. Especially since Amy wasn’t anything official to him. One of the modern things everyone expected him to be scandalised by was casual premarital sex. Amy as his date to an event was one thing. Captain America has wild weekend with a foreign princess was another. The papers would have a field day. What they needed was some sort of official reason to be in the same place. “I love you sweetheart.”  
  
“I’m sorry we couldn’t run away together _Mon Ours._” Amy wrapped her arms around his neck and resting her weight on him. He always liked when she let him take her weight. And she liked the way his hands held her waist and made her feel delicate without feeling fragile. She nuzzled into his chest. “Don’t punch the Finish MP when he suggests the refugee crisis isn’t their problem.”  
  
Steve kissed her one last time and let her go. He missed her already. The warm lingering smile she gave him as the doors closed between them just wasn’t the same as knowing he was going to wake up next to her. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. needed a new field office in Japan. He could probably parley that into a solid month… and then a week there every month or two after that… it was an idea.


	45. Coffee and Remembering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We engage in a flashback here. A little different from my normal style, but it felt like the right way to do this.

Steve threw himself into an armchair. He didn’t need to worry about Amy. Bodyguard duty was almost safe compared to some of their work. And She had Dai to look after her. He should be focusing on what they were going to do about the information they had recovered. Call Nat was the obvious option. But she would be busy for at least another full day. He might as well use the time to indulge his own curiosity.  
He leaned back, watching Sam and Brian sitting with their heads together. Sprawled together on the couch, Sam had an arm along the back of the couch. Brian’s hand rested on Sam’s knee. They looked happy together. There was an easy physical affection between the two of them. Amy’s explanation had been reassuring, but it hadn’t given him all the answers he wanted. “So, how did you meet Amy?”  
“We fought a dragon.” Dane said setting a carafe in the middle of the coffee table.  
“He makes it sound more exciting than it was.” Brian demurred. Neither he nor Ayame came off look great in this story. He’d been an idiot and gotten them in over their heads, and Ayame had been reckless to the point of being suicidal.  
Brian poured two mugs and passed one two Sam. It was probably a useless attempt to distract at least one of the two people studying him intently.  
It didn’t work.  
Sam accepted the mug with a raised eyebrow. Knowing what he did already he suspected that Dane wasn’t the one concealing how exciting it had been. “So, there wasn’t a dragon?”  
Brain cleared his throat nervously. “No there was.”  
“You’ve lost me.” Steve put off filling a mug of his own. The theoretical combination of Amy and a dragon made him anxious enough without caffeine.  
Brian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t blame Steve for being a little lost. It wasn’t exactly easy to wrap your head around. Hell, he’d been living with it for years and he still wasn’t sure he really _got it_ half the time. “So… I’m kind of King Arthur… It’s a long story. I don’t want to get into it. The main thing is a semi sentient sword occasionally tells me to do things.”  
“Things which I get dragged into because family curses are a bitch.”  
“Where do you get a semi sentient sword?”  
Dane laughed dryly. “How do you get rid of a semi sentient sword is the real question.”  
Brian had to agree with that. _Getting_ a sword that made sent you on quests was shockingly easy. He’d had two of them in his life. “And as soon as I figure that out, I will let you know. I got it from Ayame’s Great Grandmother. Amaterasu. She likes to dabble in human lives occasionally, in our part of the world we generally call her the Lady of the Lake, yes of Arthurian legend. Something about sacred pools and the west being squeamish about a female sun god. I met her well before I met Aims though.”  
Sam blinked at his boyfriend. Some of this he knew. Like Brian being King Arthur reincarnated, or something like that. Some of it was new. Like Amy’s family being involved somehow. Or Brian fighting a dragon. A quick look at Steve confirmed that he wasn’t the only one who needed clarification on new information. “I think you might need to actually tell the story pretty boy.”  
Dane kicked his feet onto the coffee table and took a deep drink of his coffee. “Start at the beginning. I'll fill in the gaps.”  
*****  
_Sweat dripped into Brian’s eyes. This was bad. No. Bad didn’t really begin to cover what this was. _  
_He and Dane were trapped on a hillock in the middle of a valley. Hordes of rock and fire elementals penned them in. Humanoid piles of volcanic rock carrying war hammers and sword wielding figures made of flames and smoke and jostling for position. Milling around the small area Brain and Dane were controlling. Continually launching attacks on their defenses. And at the center of the mess, a dragon roared and occasionally shot balls of flame at them. _  
_It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they had guns of some description. Only they were stuck in a pocket dimension where gun powder and other modern weapons didn’t work. Which was why they were both wearing plate armour and wielding swords. Some days he hated Avalon. _  
_He ducked another flaming sphere. Okay, he always hated fucking Avalon._  
_Metal clinked against metal as Dane set his back against Brian’s. Brian could feel his heavy breathing rattle through both suits of armor. “We are so bloody fucked. Why did I let you and that damn sword talk me into this?”_  
_“Because monsters were invading Wales.” Brain batted away another swipe from the dragon's claws. He was getting tired even with Excalibur to bolster him. Dane must be exhausted. More bad news. They were surrounded. If either of them lost ground, they would be overwhelmed. _  
_“Fuck Wales. We don’t live in Wales.” Dane panted parrying an attack from a flaming sword. “And Wales likes dragons. Dragons are their thing.”_  
_Brian tightened his grip on Excalibur’s hilt. They were not going to die here. He would figure out a solution to this problem. He just needed to think. Thinking would be so much easier without foot long fangs snapping inches from his face every few seconds. “Shut up and watch our flank.”_  
_Dane launched himself back into the fray. _  
_Brian hacked at the Dragon’s foot as it tried to get buy him to Dane. Dane was right. Fuck Wales. Fuck Dragons. Fuck Merlin. Fuck the Lady of the Lake. Fuck Excalibur. Fuck everyone and everything that had gotten him into this situation. Maybe cursing the world wasn’t helping him come up with a plan to get him out of here, but it made him feel better._  
_Something shifted on the horizon. Brian spared a fragment of attention to catalog a red gold glow tinging the east. He dismissed it. Either it didn’t matter or there was nothing they could do about it._  
_The dragon roared and snapped at him. He stabbed at its nose with his sword. Excalibur wasn’t even making a scratch on the hard scales. At best he was bruising it. He didn’t think he was going to be able to_ bash _a dragon to death before they were overrun. He needed to find a weak spot._  
_Blinding light poured over the ridge top. _  
_The entire battle froze. Even the Dragon’s attention stolen by the new development. A single rider silhouetted against the light. Or was the light emanating from the rider? More figures on foot topped the ridge. The light dimmed slightly, and the figures came into focus._  
_Brian did a double take confused. The Lady of the Lake and… a flock of white-haired models?... With… Spears?... Swords attached to long poles? He was just guessing that they were attractive. All of them were definitely lithe and graceful, dressed in some feminine version of traditional Japanese armor with glossy overlapping plates and richly coloured silk wafting from underneath. They were also all wearing white masks shaped like fox heads. _  
_A single dark-haired woman stepped to the front of the group. Her blade glinting in the sudden dawn._  
_Amaterasu nodded once, stiffly. The women moved as one. The dark-haired one a fraction of a second behind the others. They rushed down the slope. An avalanche of flashing steel and whirling silk. Waves of enemies went down under their blades, back ranks breaking and running as their companions fell. The tide of battle was turning._  
_Brian squared his shoulders. That was a minions taken care of. Which just left the dragon. A claw grasped at him. Apparently, the dragon was over its shock. _  
_Around him the battle raged. White-haired women driving back the elementals. All of them fierce and efficient with their blades. Brain kept most of his focus on the dragon. Just tracking the fox masked warrior’s out of the corner of his eye._  
_He’d lost track of the dark-haired fox. Not that it really mattered where any of them were. With the main mass in retreat Dane was fighting at his side. Assuming their respite wasn’t some kind of cruel joke they just might make it out of this alive. They caught one of the dragon’s claws between their blades. Together they managed to generate enough leverage to hack it off. _  
_The dragon let out a distressed roar and a gout of fire. Brian ducked away as the flames lapped at his armour._  
_A flash of black caught his eye. The missing fox-woman. Running along the dragon's neck like it was a balance beam. Steps steady despite the flailing below her. She stabbed the dragon in the eye with her spear. _  
_The dragon threw its head back and roared again. She used the momentum of its roar to swing herself on the spear shaft and launch herself into its jaws. _  
_The dragon flailed and stumbled around, bloody stump sliding in the dust. Its neck jerked violently. The head hit the ground hard. _  
_Brian saw what had caused the flailing. The dark-haired warrior had wedged herself in the dragon’s throat. Her sword jammed almost a full foot into the roof of its mouth._  
_The dragon tossed its head weakly just hard enough to knock the woman in its mouth of balance. She stumbled into the wall of teeth, barely managing to keep her feet. A broken fang caught on the strap of her mask. Undaunted, she lunged forward, thrusting her sword deeper into the dragon's soft palate. The mask tumbled away. Revealing sharp features set in a look of determination._  
_Brain stared at her startled. She was young. Younger than him by at least five years. She might even still be a teenager. And she was standing inside a dragon's mouth._  
_“Jesus bloody-“ Brain snapped into action. Dodging the dragon’s flailing limbs, he lunged towards the girl. Grabbing her arm, he dragged her free of the dragon’s mouth. Just as it shuddered, and the jaws clamped shut. It writhed a few more times, it’s death throws slowing and juddering to a stop._  
_The rest of her allies had broken the siege around them and were standing at regular intervals around them. The Lady of the Lake started down the hill. Her horse taking delicate prancing steps._  
_Brain’s shoulders heaved as he panted. Excalibur loose in his right hand, the girl’s upper arm gripped tightly in his left. He took a better look at her now that they had some breathing room. She was so young. Maybe. Maybe, nineteen. Pretty. In a haughty sort of way. Lips pursed in a bitter expression. Her eyes were her most striking features. Fiery purple and full of more anger than he could have expected._  
_“I had it under control.” She growled shaking her arm free._  
_“I’m sure you did.” Brian grumbled. He didn’t need gushing and fawning or anything, but some gratitude would be nice. He had just saved her life._  
_The Lady of the Lake reached their group and dismounted gracefully. “Children.” Her voice rang like a bell. Commanding and confident. The voice of a god._  
_The white-haired women formed up around her._  
_Sword still dripping with dragon’s blood the dark-haired girl knelt delicately at the Lady of the Lake’s feet. Bowing her head demurely. Purple sparks wandered over her neck and hands. They caught in her eyelashes and flickered in her hair. A few long deep breaths seemed to bring her closer to center, the sparks diminished, some sputtering out, but they didn’t disappear completely._  
_Brain dropped to one knee in front of the lady himself. He might have been cursing her name a few minutes ago, but that was before she saved their skins. _  
_Dane came to kneel next to him. Bumping their armoured shoulders together. A friendly reminder that they had survived again. Against all odds they had survived. They really couldn’t make a habit of cutting it this close._  
_“Lord Braddok. Lord Whitman. May I present my children.” The Lady gestured at the women clustered around her. They all bowed softly in greeting; swords of spears held loosely at their sides. She set her hand on the dark-haired girls head. “Specifically, may I present my youngest grandchild. Kitsui Ayame Winters.”_  
_Brian pulled off his helmet and inclined his head towards the girl. “Lady.”_  
_The girl flicked her eyes towards him, but otherwise stayed perfectly still. More sparks flashed around her._  
_Dane growled long and low. A distinctly angry noise. Brian looked over at him. He did look angry. That didn’t make sense. He should look relived. They had survived after all. Instead he looked like he was spoiling for another fight. Hadn’t he just been in a good mood? He’d greeted Brian like he was anyway._  
_“Manners little fox.” The lady stroked the girl’s hair. She looked back at Brian and Dane, regarding them coolly and seeming to decide that they would do. “You will look after her for a little while.”_  
_“What?” Brian looked up at her surprised. What did that mean ‘look after her’? Look after her how? What was he supposed to do? Babysit her?_  
_“She has a small issue. You can handle that issue. Return her to us when she’s fixed.” The Lady turned neatly on her heel and walked away with out waiting for a response. The white-haired warrior women followed her in perfect formation. Only one of them paused to kiss the girl’s head affectionately before she joined the line._  
_The girl stayed kneeling, head bowed, sword resting across her knees._  
*****  
_Brian leaned back in his chair. He was irritable. It wasn’t completely unjustified. He’d just been saddled with babysitting duty he didn’t really need right now, and the dragon had managed to singe one of his arms before the fox-girl had taken it down. The irritation had been growing since he had taken off his armour and put Excalibur down. Not that he’d let the sword go far. It was balanced on the table next to him. He was reluctant to let it get too far away with a dragon killer in the house._  
_He looked up at Dane pacing in front of the fire. He looked irritable too. Which was strange for him. Normally he was at his most relaxed when they were newly back from a 'quest'. The promise of a respite from weirdness and a return to their normal life always improved his mood. Not today though. Today he was acting like a caged tiger._  
_And then there was his new house guest. She had curled herself in the window seat. As far from the two of them as she could get while staying in the same room. She had shed her outer layers of armour. She was still covered from head to toe in the dark blue loose dark blue silks she had worn underneath. The purple sparks were still there. He could see them running over what little skin she had exposed. They flashed in her eyelashes and dripped off her fingertips._  
_A theory started to form in Brian’s mind. There had to be a reason the Lady had selected him for this particular task, and he didn’t think it was his boundless empathy. So, what did he have that made her think he was special? He reached over and curled his hand back around Excalibur's hilt. The irritation vanished. It was her. Something she was doing was affecting their mood. He would put money on it having something to do with those sparks of hers._  
_“Can you stop doing that?” He snapped._  
_“I wouldn’t be here if I could.” She glared at him. Or in his general direction at least. Brain watched closely as she took a deep breath. Some of the sparks melted back into her skin. Leaving just a few rouge lights dancing._  
_She shifted pulling her knees tighter in against her chest. “Can we get to the part where you try to hurt me already? This waiting is just torture.”_  
_Dane froze. He and Brian exchanged a look. It was said irreverently, but with a air of inevitability. She truly thought that she was here to be hurt. That they would hurt her somehow. “What makes you think we’ll try to hurt you?”_  
_“Most people do eventually.” She shrugged, not meeting their eyes. Brian got the feeling it had been a while since she had met anyone’s eyes. “I failed the family, just because I couldn’t do it myself and Grandmother decided to outsource my punishment doesn’t mean I can just get away with that.”_  
_“Okay. There is a lot of baggage to unpack there.” Brian said, trying to keep her voice even. What ever was going on with this girl. Ayame, he reminded himself. She had a name. A name and a problem. He looked at his friend again. Dane still looked angry. More directed anger now. Like he wanted to go out and find whoever made the girl think everyone was going to hurt her. Abuse was always a sore spot for him. “Dane, I think you'd better go before you break something. You’re not yourself right now.”_  
_“You sure you should be alone with her? She’s….” He made a motion that somehow encompassed unstable, dangers, and lost all at once._  
_“I’ll be fine. The idiot sword is finally good for something, and the Lady did say 'when she’s fixed' so there has to be a solution.”_  
_Dane looked at him sceptically but relented. He did make the hand signs for check in and two hours where Ayame couldn’t see him. Brian signalled conformation. He wasn’t about to take unnecessary risks with this girl. Whatever her problem was it made her more dangerous not less. _  
_Brian dragged his chair in a half circle, so he was facing Ayame. “Alright. Let’s talk about how you’re making me feel things I’m not actually feeling and why you think you deserve to be punished.” _


	46. Steve is a responsible Adult… Whatever That Is.

Steve was very glad he was sitting down. Amy fought a dragon. Amy was literally in a dragon’s mouth. He was never going to be okay with how downright reckless his girl could be. He should have made Amy tell him this story. Then he would have been able to wrap his arms around her and make sure she really was okay. Amy should have wanted to tell him the story. Her explanation hadn’t even begun to cover what had happened. These huge things in her life kept blindsiding him.  
  
“She moved in. A month later Daisuke moved in. Two months later Dai met Fredrick.” Brian set down his mug. It had been a few months before Amy had really come out of her shell and started acting like herself. It had been rough. Once she got her feet back under her though… The goddess shone like the brightest star in the sky. Brian adored her. She was the best friend a guy could ask for. Fiercely loyal and always willing to tell you the precise truth about everything. “The rest is history.”  
  
Steve rubbed his eyes. The dragon wasn’t even the worst part. “Did they really say return her when she’s fixed?”  
  
Brian shrugged. Maybe Thor was different from other gods and immortals. In his experience that was just the way they were. “Amaterasu and the Bright-eyed Foxes exist outside of time as we understand it. They can come across as cold. They really do care about her though. Other wise they wouldn’t have gone through the effort of getting her help. Two thousand years of Foxes, they let 99 percent of them die without raising a finger. Hell, I’m pretty sure if an average Fox lost control of their powers the old ones would just straight up kill them to avoid any risk to the family. Ayame, they at least tried to help.”  
  
Steve sighed and closed his eyes. Visions of Amy flickering across the back of his eyelids. The way she laughed when he surprised her. Her cool competence in every situation. The wicked smirk and flashing steel of her in combat. Her smiling up at him with those lovely violet eyes when they woke up together. A million tiny reasons to Love her. A million things that set her apart from anyone he had ever met. “She is special. Not the most emotionally available person or the most verbally affectionate. But undeniably special.”  
  
“I didn’t know the goddess could be any kind of affectionate. Isn’t she a little _reserved_ for that sort of thing?” Dane said into his coffee.  
  
Brian glared at him. Ayame could be very affectionate, maybe not in the traditional sense, but she wouldn’t have shown up yesterday if she didn’t care about them. She didn’t tease or joke with people outside her circles. If you didn’t interest Ayame in some way, either by being someone she cared about, or being _very_ good at what you did, or by having something she needed, she didn’t talk to you at all. Which Dane knew perfectly well. How many regimental dinners had Brian taken her too where she had silently stared down someone who had interrupted their conversation?  
  
“Normally I’d say she’s just not the kind of girl to express any emotion other than derision. But then normally I would say she’s not the kind of girl who can fall asleep with someone else in the room. I’ve never seen her act like she acts around you. Still…” Brian considered his words carefully. He didn’t want to step on any toes. “Walls like hers are hard to break down completely. Especially if there are unanswered questions.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Steve asked finally pouring himself a cup of coffee. He had been right. Amy putting herself in danger stressed him out like nothing else. Amy putting herself in danger and having a breakdown was especially hard. At least this had happened before North Korea. He liked to think she’d been less reckless since he’d gotten her back. Although she might also be protecting him from the worst of it. She wouldn’t have run into Bucky if she’d been staying nice and safe after all. They should sit down and talk about everything the next time they were together. It just never seemed like a good use of their limited time, and he didn’t want to have the conversation over the phone.  
  
“I mean….” Brain hesitated. You’re in love with someone else and Aims isn’t good at sharing at the best of times. No, he couldn’t say that. If Steve really was in love with Barnes and it wasn’t some kind of misunderstanding, that was between the two of them… three of them? He knew the goddess. He was sure she had a plan of some sort. Whether it was one any of them would approve of was another matter. “If Ayame isn’t falling at your feet and professing her undying love…. Maybe she has a reason. One thing Aims is great at is cost benefit risk assessment.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve folded the clothes Amy had given him last night and carefully tucked them into his gear bag. It wouldn’t hurt to have another option for covert work. Nat was always teasing him about his ‘shoot me now’ flag outfits. Packing up was making him feel melancholic for some reason. It shouldn’t their mission was over. They were going home. So why did it feel like his home had left hours ago.  
  
Behind him Sam cleared this throat nervously. “Listen. Steve…”  
  
Steve hid a smile he knew exactly what was on Sam’s mind. The same thing that would be on his mind in the same situation. He turned to lean casually against the edge of the console he was packing on. “You want to take a couple day in London before you get back to work.”  
  
Sam rubbed the back of his neck nervously. It was an ask. They technically had work to do. Nat was the only person who would be able to make heads or tales of the information they had though and even then, it would probably take her a while. Really, he was only skipping out on their usual paperwork and meetings. That didn’t stop him feeling guilty about the idea. “Yeah….”  
  
“I don’t know Sam. I mean I take a day or two to be with Amy all the time, but this…” Steve crossed his arms over his chest. Holding back a laugh. Sam was so damn earnest about the whole thing. None of their other teammates would feel bad about taking some downtime. Hell, Tony was half retired and no one doubted his commitment. It was good to know he wasn’t the only one who overthought taking time away this much. “I think you’d better take the whole week.”  
  
“I love you man.” Sam laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Thanks.”  
  
*****  
  
Meeting with the EU security council went exactly as well as Steve had expected it to. Lots of people reassuring each other that they were working together when they were really only looking out for their country’s interests. Excuses for why no one could do anything. The parts of his job he had always hated. At least during the war, you could rely on some general or Churchill to give a stirring speech about necessity, sacrifice, and the greater good. That drive had disappeared somewhere along the line. It almost made him wish that climate change and the migrant crisis had some sort of threat equivalent to the blitz to bring the threat home. He was getting tired of having to be the one to give the stirring speeches.  
  
He rubbed the back of his neck. Speaking of stirring speeches. He was supposed to be writing a commencement speech for Westpoint. It wasn’t going very well. So far all he had written was ‘Our best and brightest, the future of the American military’. Even on paper it sounded stilted and disingenuous.  
  
His phone chimed on his desk. He smiled when he saw who had messaged him.  
  
Ayame: Look darling. We made the papers.  
  
Steve tapped on the attached article.  
  
_Heartthrob and Heartbreaker: Captain America’s new fling._  
  
The thrilling headline came complete with a photo spread. Steve talking to people at the first party. Amy dancing with some rich industrialist’s heir. The two of them on the couch together. Steve blushed at that one. His hands were halfway up Amy’s skirt. It made her look like some kind of floosy. He should have thought about her image, instead of just thinking about how good she felt in his lap, how the other men in the room were looking at her, and how much he wanted their disappearing to her bedroom to be real. She was a princess now. They had to be more careful.  
  
A quick scan of the article gave him a good idea what the what the writer thought, of him, of Amy’s reputation, of their night together, of his past relationships, of him dating again, and of him dating Amy specifically.  
  
They weren’t thrilled.  
  
Steve: They think you’re going to break my heart.  
  
Ayame: Clearly they need to do a better job of checking their facts.  
  
Ayame: You’re much more likely to break mine.  
  
Steve: Not if I can help it.  
  
He leaned back in his desk chair. His sweet girl. He would find a way to protect her from public scrutiny. He would find a way to protect the people he loved. All of them. First though he had to work on his day job. Maybe he could channel that feeling into his speech. Remind the graduates what exactly they were going to be fighting for.


	47. Steve Has an Emergency, So Does Someone Else.

Steve: I have an emergency.  
  
Amy: An “I need help killing someone” emergency or a “My pants don’t match my shirt” emergency?  
  
Steve: Somewhere in the middle.  
  
Steve: Also, I didn’t have “My pants don’t match my shirt” emergencies before you started messing with my wardrobe.  
  
Amy: You did. You just didn’t know.  
  
Steve: Are you going to let me tell you what the emergency is, or are you going to be mean to me?  
  
Amy: Don’t make me choose. ☹  
  
Steve: I have been invited to throw out the first pitch of the season for the Yankees.  
  
Amy: …. I don’t see the emergency….  
  
Amy: You love baseball.  
  
Amy: New York is your city.  
  
Amy: You pretty much throw things for a living.  
  
Steve: It’s the YANKEES.  
  
Steve: They are the enemy Amy!  
  
Steve: Pitching for them would be a betrayal of all things Brooklyn!  
  
Amy: You could always call the Dodgers and throw theirs out too if it would make you feel better.  
  
Steve: You think they’d let me?  
  
Amy: No. I’m sure they will be horrified by the very idea of Captain America visiting them. Really, I don’t know why I suggested it in the first place.  
  
Steve: Sarcasm doesn’t translate to text well you know.  
  
Amy: Go play your game of stick ball.  
  
*****  
  
“Are you texting?” Doctor Strange glared down at the Amy, his cloak flaring around him dramatically.  
  
Amy looked up at him nonplussed. She was laying on her back on the top of a wall overlooking a cemetery. The same wall where she had been waiting for almost three hours. There was still no movement below them. If the doctor thought he was intimidated floating next to the wall like that, he was going to be sorely disappointed. As long as they weren’t actively in combat, she was going to respond to Steve’s texts. “Your cultists are late. I have other things in my life.”  
  
He glowered at her. “More important things than dooms day cultist trying to destroy the world?”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. It was hardly all that bad. With Dormammu out of the picture the worst they would be able to do was level the island, and who really cared about Peng Chau? “Captain America had an emergency. I think we worked out a solution that should keep everyone happy.”  
  
“Good to know I’m not the only person you have bullied into this sort of deal.” The doctor grumbled, rotating slowly in the air to survey the graveyard again. The cultists should have been here an hour ago. For people in such a hurry to end the world they had no regard for schedules.  
  
Amy smiled to herself. She was sure that the sorcerer wouldn’t have called if he wasn’t so desperately short handed. It was progress at least. He had called her when he was desperate. She would prove her worth. Next time it would be easier for him to call on her when things were only urgent. Then it was only a matter of time before they were sharing information regularly. He just needed time to get used to the idea. “He’s more of a willing participant than you are.”  
  
The doctor floated away exasperated. Amy lay back on the wall again. Okay. Maybe she needed to work on winning him over... or just work one being nicer when she was bored. The ocean breeze tugged at her clothes. Spring nights were lovely in Hong Kong. Lovely and incredibly boring when the cultists _still_ hadn’t shown up.  
  
*****  
  
Metal clanged against stone. Amy’s eyes flashed open. That sounded distinctly like someone trying to break into a burial vault. Finally.  
  
Amy rolled off the wall. Landing in a silent crouch. Three running steps and she was pressed against the back of the small building that was being robed. She edged gently around to the front. Down an improbably long set of stairs she could see lights moving around. Everything was going exactly to plan.  
  
A gentle touch swung the heavy bronze door shut behind her. There was no lock on the inside, but even the easily moved barrier would stop people from stumbling on the fight and slow down anyone trying to run away.  
  
Amy descend the stairs alone. Strange and Wong would be using a portal to enter the underground chamber once she gave them the signal.  
  
The stairway grew brighter as she approached. Soft blue green light painting the walls. Not good news, but not unexpected. Ayame flicked on her coms. “They have the coffin open.”  
  
She peeked around the final corner. Six cultists huddled around the glowing box. Six hardly a challenge. Shame it would be rude to cut Strange and Wong out of this. She could have used the workout. “East wall is clear.”  
  
The apparent leader carefully lifted a carved ivory tube from inside the glow. His back was to the east wall so he didn’t notice the slowly expanding swirl of orange sparks.  
  
Amy did. She counted heart beats. Seven for the portal to open four for her allies to come through. On the tenth heartbeat she launched her attack.  
  
Dive rolling into the room she came up behind the cultist closest to the door. He went down, gurgling from a deep cut to his neck. Leaving Amy and her snarling fox mask standing in his place in the circle.  
  
While they were distracted Strange and Wong launched their own attack.  
  
The leader was obviously displeased by the sudden interruption of his plans. He whipped a rope of magic into the alcove next to him where it wrapped itself around the decorative stonework. Amy leaned to the side as he hurled the statue at her. Yan Wang shattered against the wall behind her. Amy scoffed internally. Breaking holy icons was always a bad idea. You never knew who was watching.  
  
The leader growled and whipped the magic at her directly. She parried the first few lashes. But she could do better than just dodging and keeping him occupied until one of the magicians could take care of him. She might be out of practice fighting against magic, but she had the muscle memory required. She drew on her power coating her skin in a protective layer, sparks skittering off her fingers and along her sword blade.  
  
She caught the next rope of on her sword edge. Amy twisted, wrapping the rope of orange magic around her blade. She flicked her wrist, breaking the cultist's grip. The magic sputtered and dissipated. Amy lunged forward slashing the cultist across the chest. He dropped to the ground and stopped moving.  
  
Two more cultists surrounded her and raised their hands. The leader and what she assumed was his second in command. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Wong duelling with one opponent. Strange holding off the last three.  
  
Amy watched the world fragment and fold curiously. Mirror dimension. They really weren’t prepared for foxes. She centred her energy and pushed. The mirror dimension shattered around them.  
  
She could feel the energies ripple over her skin. This was an element of her powers rarely got a chance to use. It felt good. They manipulated inter dimensional energies by grabbing them and twisting. She didn’t need to manhandle them like that. They flowed through her like blood. It meant she couldn’t do everything they did, but their powers were erratic when they interacted with her. She could shrug off things that would trap or kill other people. Magical weapons passed through her. The mirror dimension couldn’t hold her. Statistics were her bitch.  
  
The cultist who had tried to trap her stumbled and dropped the cylinder. Amy’s hand shot out. Her fingers closed around the ivory moments before it hit the ground.  
  
Standing back up she saw that everyone else had stopped moving. They weren’t trapped. Just starring at her. “What?”  
  
“You broke the mirror dimension.” Strange said stunned. It shouldn’t even be possible. Not without interrupting the casters concentration. And she hadn’t distracted him then broken it, breaking it had distracted him.  
  
The cultist was only just getting his bearings back. Without looking Amy reversed her sword and brought the hold down hard on his temple, sending him sprawling on the floor unconscious.  
  
“Sorry,” Amy turned to her allies, tucking the cylinder into her gi jacket. “Weren’t we supposed to be saving the artefact?”  
  
“People don’t just break the mirror dimension.” Wong looked to the other sorcerers for a sign of what they should do. Half his attention still on the semi restrained man at his feet.  
  
“I mean maybe you don’t. I do.” Amy shrugged. This new friendship with Strange was proving to be more fun than she had thought it would be. There hadn’t been an opportunity to use her powers like this since her time living in England. And she didn’t even have to deal with the less enjoy elements of Avalon.  
  
She turned her attention to the final cultists. A twist of her powers made her eyes flash. A flair of violet light in the dark room. They opponents broke and ran. She smirked. Fear of the unknown was a beautifully universal thing. She would regret her theatrics in the morning. But oh they were fun right now.  
  
Suddenly out of combat, Amy’s allies looked around the damp stone room. Two dead. A priceless statue destroyed. An artefact capable to tearing a black hole in space recovered. Not bad for one night’s work.  
  
Strange opened a portal from the crypt to the Hong Kong sanctuary. They all stepped through and he dropped the sparking doorway. With a smile Amy passed Wong the scroll tube and he bustled off to secure it. The scroll itself was already firmly concealed in her belt, replaced with a good enough forgery that it was unlikely anyone would notice unless they actually tried the ritual.  
  
Amy leaned casually against the banister of the grand staircase. She wasn’t feeling great. It wouldn’t do to let them know that though. Strange was watching her intently, probably trying to get a better read on how her particular brand of magic worked. With his medical eye it wouldn’t take him long to figure out she was hiding vertigo. Better get out of here as quickly as possible. “Would you mind dropping me in Tokyo? I have things to do.”  
  
*****  
  
The couch in Dai and Fredrick's apartment was gloriously comfortable. The cushions were firm. The upholstery was soft. And most importantly it wasn’t moving. At least it wasn’t moving as long as Amy kept one foot on the floor.  
  
Dai leaned over the back of the couch to look at his cousin. She hadn’t been in his living room when he had gone to bed last night. He hadn’t heard any doors or windows open. She looked like she was about to fall of the stationary surface. “You let him portal you, didn’t you?”  
  
“It was significantly faster than air travel and asking people for small favours inspires trust.” Amy said trying not to move her head too much. Her ears felt like she was underwater. She might be able to mess with magic if she put her mind to it, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t mess right back. She did manage to get her hand up and meet his welcoming fist bump with her knuckles.  
  
“Yeah.” Dai draped a throw blanket over her legs. “It has also completely thrown of your equilibrium. It is going to be hours before you get your balance back. You know you can’t travel by magic without grandmother stabilising you.”  
  
“Don’t be such a mother hen. I'll be fine. I can work from here.” Dai was being ridiculous. She didn’t need a blanket. She didn’t get cold. Moving only her arms Amy held her phone above her face. Her screen was blurry. She would have to get that checked later. Probably a software glitch. It definitely wasn’t the fact her hands were shaking or her eyes having trouble focusing... Probably.  
  
Okay, maybe she should have taken a helicopter instead of a portal. But she had needed another gesture to show that she trusted the sorcerers.  
  
Dai ruffled her hair affectionately. “Stubborn girl. I'll make you a smoothie.”  
  
“No kale please.” Amy said opening a file with the new chatter from Mylasia. She could hear clearly at least.  
  
Dai rolled his eyes. “You need fibber. You’re getting kale.”


	48. Amy Makes Time

Wanda leaned forward over the counter. Books and papers spread around her. Natasha had set an extensive reading program and it was not going well. English wasn’t her first language and this barely qualified as English.  
  
“Situational awareness.”  
  
Wanda almost fell off her chair at the sudden voice in her ear. “Amy! What are you doing here?”  
  
“Surprising my boy.” Amy chirped leaning against the edge of the table casually. “What are you doing? Besides not paying attention to your surroundings, which you need to work on.”  
“Trying to make heads or tails of this damn play.” Wanda grumbled shoving the book away in irritation.  
  
Amy flipped over the book. The Tempest. “’Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,  
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.  
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments  
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,  
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,  
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,  
The clouds methought would open, and show riches  
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,  
I cried to dream again.’  
  
It’s about fearing the right things. Nat knows what she is doing.”  
  
Wanda scrunched up her face. Nat might know what she was doing, but that didn’t mean Wanda had to enjoy it. She would much rather be learning these things from an actual university with people her own age. “She says she’s trying to expose me to enough culture that I can fit into any situation.”  
  
Amy smiled she recognised that face. Wanda was bored. She worn that same face through a lot of her own artistic studies, although she had been a lot younger. Luckily, she had a little treat she could dangle. “That too. Has she made you read _Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura_ yet?”  
  
Wanda shook her head. “Mostly Shakespeare, Voltaire, and Gorky.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. Gorky before any of the great Asian playwrights. Oh Natasha. Her plan was even more important than she had thought. Clearly Wanda needed her help. “Her patriotism is showing. Next time you’re in Japan. We'll go to the theatre.”  
  
Wanda lit up. The theatre with Yuma. That had to be a fun night. They could get dressed up. Maybe have dinner first. She wondered if Amy would let her bring Vision with her. “Seriously?”  
  
“I’ll let you raid my kimono collection and everything.” Amy shrugged her bag higher on her shoulder. This was a plan they could work out later. She had a limited amount of time for her current scheme and she didn’t want to waste any of it. “Is he in his room?”  
  
Wanda shook her head a grin spreading across her face at the idea of Amy’s surprise. Steve was going to be so excited. “I don’t think so. He had some errands to run.”  
  
“Don’t give me away.” Amy said with a wink.  
  
*****  
  
Steve was not looking forward to tonight. Yesterday he had been in the Costa Rican jungle cleaning out a nest of smugglers with Nat, and if he was honest, he wished he still was. Instead he was picking up his tux from the onsite drycleaners and dreading the rest of his day. He wouldn’t even be able to ride his bike into the city since he had to be in formal wear.  
  
At least the 'personal brand managers' that S.H.I.E.L.D. had assigned to all the Avengers was letting him wear the blue tux that Amy had brought him at Christmas instead of the scratchy black one. This was supposed to be his organisation now and somehow, they still made him feel like a trained monkey half the time.  
  
The book had been a mistake. A huge success. It had raised a ton of money for the kids. But a mistake because it had also raised his political capital enough that he was back on the 'approved' list for fancy parties. Part of him wondered if he could throw another wrench into the government and get knocked back off. Maybe a tirade on gerrymandering?  
  
He was sure lots of people would be excited by the idea of attending the Mayor’s spring ball in New York. He was not. It would be full of fawning people who didn’t know the real him and didn’t want to know the real him. He would have to smile, make polite conversation, and pretend that he wasn’t deeply offended by their assumptions about him and how he felt about the new century. If one more person asked him if he was scandalised by gay marriage, he was going to tell them all _exactly_ what he thought. Optics be damned. He might even propose to Sam just to get them to shut up. Amy would find it hilarious. God, he wished he could get drunk sometimes.  
  
Steve let himself back into his rooms with just enough time to shave, shower and get dressed before he had to leave. There was a light on that he was sure he had turned off. Someone was in his rooms. He dropped the garment bag on the couch and approached the bedroom slowly.  
Creamy skin. Raven hair half twisted back from her face. Seamed stalking and lacy garters hugging lean legs that he would recognise anywhere. “Amy?”  
  
Amy slipped a wing shaped comb into her hair. “Oh good, you’re back.”  
  
“What are you doing here?” Steve asked wrapping his arms around her to make sure she was real.  
  
“I had a couple of days free so I thought I would pop over and rescue you from all the socialites trying to get in your pants.” A couple days was a generous description. She had exactly 36 hours before she had to be in Hikido. Just enough time to hold his hand through the mayor’s reception and squeeze in some extra circulars. Really, she should be there now doing preparations, but she was trying to delegate more. And the way he was smiling at her made the scrambling she was going to need to do when she got home worth it.  
  
*****  
  
Steve whistled as he stepped out of the bathroom. He thought he looked good in the grey three-piece suit Amy had brought him. This is one was some sort of silk blend, cut so that if he needed to, he could wear under-arm holsters for work. With a navy tie and a pocket square covered in tiny squares, it was a sharp look. It had nothing on his girl.  
  
Amy was glorious. Silvery dove grey silk in a gently sweeping skirt. A matching belt that secured the truly stunning part of the dress. Pearls. Hundreds of soft grey pearls. Sewn in graduated concentric circles, like ripples on a pond. The fabric underneath so shear it was almost invisible. Wide sleeves draped her arms with a liquid grace. The front dipped in a deep V all the way to that wide belt. This was a princess. “I’m not going to have time to eat I’m going to be so busy fending off guys all night.”  
  
Amy tipped her head, making her hair clip catch the light. “You think so?”  
  
Steve grinned. It wasn’t just a wing. It was the wing off his helmet. This was his princess. “Well maybe not if you stick close.”  
  
“I think I can do that.” Amy said smoothly his lapels.  
  
*****  
  
Three hundred people crammed into the public rooms at Gracie Mansion, all talking over one another and the string quartet that was doing its best to provide background music. The guests were a mix of the who’s who of most of New York’s top circles. From the political elite, to stars of the business and art communities, socialites, the intelligentsia, foreign dignitaries, and the jet set crowd. Alone Steve would have found the night pointless and shallow. With Amy making little acerbic comments she muttered in Amy ear it was almost amusing. The best thing about having her on his arm was the way she kept conversations firmly in his wheelhouse and away from the kinds of conversations that got him into trouble with S.H.I.E.L.D.s public relations department. He should sick Amy on them too. Have her remind them who they worked for.  
  
Despite his girl acting as an amazing social buffer. He still wasn’t looking forward to being accosted by the granddams of the old families though. They were honestly better at interrogation that anyone he had ever met. He braced himself when he heard the distinctive sound of them approaching. “Captain Rogers! How simply wonderful to see you. And with a date no less.”  
  
“Lady Ayame was kind enough to accompany me tonight.” Steve shifted Amy’s hand on his arm. He wanted the connection as firm as possible just now. In this kind of situation, Amy was better protection than a suite of armour.  
  
The leader of the group’s eyes went wide in shock. “The Japanese princess?”  
  
Amy squeezed Steve’s forearm. She could feel his muscles tense with nerves. It made sense that he would be nervous going up against these formidable ladies without back up, but tonight he wasn’t without back up. She knew the architype of these women. In fact, several of them were friends of her mother’s. “Well, I was just a lowly academic when we met. A courtesy title isn’t going to make me forget my friends.”  
  
Steve was a little in awe of the way Amy handled these women. He had expected the conversation to turn almost instantly into one about how long they had been seeing each other, when they were going to get married, how many children they were going to have. Instead Amy somehow manoeuvred them until they were on the topic of charities. By the time the women were ready to turn their attention to a new group, they were all raving about how wonderful the Sarah Rogers Foundation was and all the amazing work it was doing, and Steve had four donation checks in his breast pocket, all over six figures.  
  
Other people rushed to fill the void. Steve and Amy drifted from one conversation to another. They found their way to a cosy seating nook to one side of the room, claiming a pair of armchairs side by side. Amy let her eyes stray over the dancefloor wistfully. She loved to dance. Steve didn’t dance, and he was so happy debating colour theory in the twentieth century with one of the curators from the MOMA. She crossed her ankles and leaned her body towards him. She loved listening to Steve talk about something he was passionate about too.  
  
They couldn’t stay talking art all night unfortunately. Other people wanted their attention. They made a slow circuit of the room, arms firmly linked. Amy carefully modulated a tiny fragment of power to create a pleasant aura around them. A handful of tiny sparks blending with the glitter of her gown. Auras were more work and less reliable than directly influencing a single target. It was also less morally ambiguous. Not everyone was affected by her auras, it wasn’t all that different than wearing a perfume with calming oils or using her sparkling personality to make people like her. At least that was what she told herself as she smiled at yet another person.  
  
Steve maintained a pleasant look. All the introductions and hand shaking were starting to blend together. For probably the fifth time that night someone handed them a pair of champagne flutes and congratulated them on something. This time Amy’s new title. She smiled and made appropriate comments in return. Steve noticed, not for the first time, that Amy wasn’t drinking as much as using her glass as a shield against other people handing her drinks. Now that he was paying attention, she seemed reluctant to even hold the delicate crystal. A slight tension creasing the skin around her eyes. The night was cool enough that the terrace should be deserted. They could both use a few minutes away from the crowd. Steve set his hand on the small of her back and gently steered them out of the main crowd.  
  
Steve had guessed right about the terrace. He closed the door behind them, and they were alone.  
  
Amy set her champagne on a spindly wrought iron table without ever sipping from it. “I really don’t understand why people are so enamoured of this shit. It’s just bad white wine with bubbles.”  
  
“Why don’t you like champagne?” Steve leaned against the railing. He’d never seen her drink it. He’d seen her with a champagne flute on a number of occasions, but it had always been something someone else had given her. When she ordered her own drinks, they tended to be whiskey, saké, or a cocktail. Champagne was another one of those things that other people thought the elegant woman they imagined she was liked, and his Amy actually kind of hated. He wondered sometimes, how much of her mystique was just people being blind to her actual preferences.  
  
Amy shrugged stiffly. She had a number of ‘unique quirks', as her therapist insisted on calling them. Like most of them, her distaste for sparkling wine stemmed from a particularly bad moment in her past and she didn’t love talking or even thinking about it. “Liquids tend to lose their charm once you’ve been water boarded with them.”  
  
That made Steve frown. He had expected a snarky comment about new money pretending to sophistication, or maybe a remark about western liquor in general not being as great as people thought it was, not another scar on her heart. Jun’ichi had a lot to answer for. If Amy hadn’t killed him already, Steve would be tempted to do it himself. He was only assuming it had been Jun’ichi, but something about the way she had stiffened made her reaction feel too personal for it to have been a work incident. His protectiveness was roused either way. “Do I want to know?”  
  
“I took care of it.” A bitter glint sparked in Amy’s eye. This year had been very successful on one front at least. Her past couldn’t hurt her anymore, she was free.  
  
“Better if I don’t. Got it.” Steve patted the rail next to him. If she didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t press the issue. He knew enough about her past to assume the worst, and enough about her to assume that her ‘taking care of it’ had been messy and morally grey. He also knew enough to think she might want a little comfort just now, but was too proud to ask. He reminded himself to be more careful when asking about her past, too many things that should be innocent were actually old wounds for her.  
  
The surrounding trees muffled the lights and sounds of the city around them. The night was alive, millions of people going about their lives. New York was so uniquely vibrant. The whole world crammed together here. Amy leaned into Steve’s side. “Tell me about your New York.”  
  
“You know about my New York.” Steve slipped his arm around her waist and cuddled her close.  
  
“No. I know about New York when you lived here.” Amy elbowed him playfully in the ribs, and let her mind settle back into the moment. She really was free if she wanted to be. Steve would never hurt her like the people in her past had, it was easy to remember when he held her. His arm tight but not confining. “It’s not the same thing.”  
  
“Alright.” Steve lifted and whirled them around until they were facing east. “See the river? Across and south, is my New York. It’s pretty glamorous these days, but in my day, it was rough, it was squalid, it smelled, and I loved everything about it. I don’t know about New York, but Buck and I were definitely kings of Brooklyn. Where do I even start? Ahh, sweetheart, we were so young and so alive.”  
  
Amy considered the lights sparkling in the night. Normally she would be looking for a story about one of his many scraps. She was always enraptured by the idea of a pre-serum Steve overflowing with fight. Tonight, she was in the mood for something simple and happy. “How about your first kiss?”  
  
Steve laughed and kissed Amy’s neck. There was a romantic buried under all that cynicism. He liked being one of the few people in the world that got to see this side of her. “Ciara Walsh, behind the community hall after Sunday school when we were ten. Her best friend was absolutely convinced she was going to marry Bucky. Somehow Bucky convinced the girls that sneaking out back and letting us steal a kiss was a good idea. There was a lot of giggling. Still not convinced I did it right.”  
  
Amy looked up at him through her lashes. He was too modest. “You’re pretty good at it now. I doubt you embarrassed yourself too badly.”  
  
Steve looked over his shoulder. Through the French windows the party continued. A swirl of beautiful people all laughed and congratulating themselves on how important they were. As much as he wanted to he didn’t think they could just stay here on the veranda and recreate that kiss. “We should go back in shouldn’t we.”  
  
“One more hour and we can make our excuses.”  
  
*****  
  
They were separated once they were inside. Steve got dragged into a debate on the historical debate about the Suez Canal and the proxy wars of the last century. Some of Fredrick’s fashion friends found Amy and she let them swarm around her to inspect her gown.  
  
The conversation slowly morphed into modern politics. Steve glanced over at Amy’s conversation. Two of the designers were fussing over one of her arms. Amy was ignoring them. Her head together with a man Steve thought he had seen before but couldn’t place. Whoever he was and whatever he was saying the conversations obviously wasn’t to Amy’s taste. A tiny line creased her forehead. Steve knew his girl. If it had upset her enough to show, it had to be big.  
  
A question about his foundation pulled Steve’s attention back to the conversation at hand. He spent the next five minutes attempting to explain why he loved his charity and was proud of what it had been able to do so far, but nothing would make him happier than to be able to shut the whole thing down.  
  
Amy appeared at his side. She smiled around at the group and slipped her arm around his. “Ready to go?”  
  
Steve suppressed a relived sigh. He was very ready to go. “Sorry gentleman. It’s been a gas, but I’m afraid I have to get the lady home.”  
  
*****  
  
Thankfully there was no one else waiting at the valet stand. Steve wasn’t in the mood to wait around and make small talk now that they were finally leaving. He rubbed his eyes. “God. I think I just broke the Governor’s heart by telling him I’m _for_ universal healthcare.”  
  
“You might have. He owns a fair number of shares in Blue cross.” Amy said as her car for the night pulled up the drive. The McLaren had been a flamboyant choice, but it had been worth it for the jealous look on Sam’s face when they had left in the metallic blue super car.  
  
“I was famously sickly as a kid. I have a fucking charity to help pay for kids healthcare.” Steve growled accepting the keys back from the valet. He clapped the young man on the shoulder and thanked him warmly. It wasn’t the staffs fault he was so irritated; they were just doing their job.  
  
Amy slipped the valet a substantial tip. Who thanked her and disappeared back to his stand. Amy smiled to herself, he would remember them next time, and would ensure they got the best service possible. And in all likelihood the best gossip too. The staff always knew everyone’s dirty little secrets. “You could send him an informational pamphlet in the morning.”  
  
“Can I?” Steve opened the passenger door for Amy. That was an idea. Hadn’t the entire point of the foundation been to use the influence of the person people thought he was to educate them.  
  
Amy let him hand her into the car. “Oh, you absolutely should. Something with a fun study about the economic and social benefits along with a note that say something like ‘Follow up to our conversation, so glad you are so passionate and invested in this issue.’ Go ahead and twist that knife.”  
  
“You, are a little evil.” Steve said grinning down at her.  
  
“You know I am.” Amy fluttered her eyelashes at him.  
  
*****  
  
Steve merged onto FDR. While they were leaving the city, their conversations had focused on what pamphlets and articles he was going to send the Governor in the morning. Amy had put that beautiful academic mind of her to work remembering the sources he had used when he was initially setting up the foundation as well as some economic studies that he hadn’t thought were relevant at the time. Now that they were on the highway the conversation lagged. Steve flicked his eyes to the rear-view mirror. Amy was half asleep, her eyes closed and features soft.  
  
The sight of her so at ease reminded him that she hadn’t been relaxed not that long ago. Someone he recognised but didn’t know. “Who was that you were talking to?”  
  
Amy stretched, her neck cracking. “You’re going to have to be more specific. I feel like a talked to the entire population of Manhattan tonight, and only about five of them anything even remotely interesting to say.”  
  
“Just before you rescued me.” Steve snuck another look at her out of the corner of his eye. “He said something that worried you.”  
  
Amy sighed. She had hoped he hadn’t noticed. She would have preferred to wait and tell him in the morning. “A contact from the CIA. Someone is asking questions about the Winter Soldier handlers.”  
  
“Not you?”  
  
“Not me and not Bucky based on the questions they are asking.” Amy drummed her fingers on her seat irritably. No one she recognised either. They seemed to have resources but no established network. It was all very odd. She would be less concerned about it if she could just find Bucky and get him somewhere safe and secure. Finding him would cause other problems, but she would deal with them when the time came. Her problems didn’t really matter anyway. Not as long as Steve was happy.  
  
“Someone else is looking for him?” Steve’s hands tightened on the wheel. If someone else was hunting Bucky… He didn’t know what they would do, but they had to do something.  
  
“I don’t know. I have to check with Nat, it could be one of her contacts.” It was a long shot. They were asking around places that Nat and Amy had ruled out already. There weren’t a lot of good explanations for someone else looking for the Winter Soldier.  
  
“Should we be worried?” Steve was pretty sure he knew the answer. Yes. They should. He loved Bucky, but even he had to admit that Bucky was a threat. If someone managed to brainwash him again... Steve didn’t want to think about how much damage a Winter Soldier operating in the open could do.  
  
Amy snorted. “Barnes is one of the greatest assassins in a century. Finding him without a ridiculous amount of resources is nearly impossible. And we would hear about it if someone was expending a ridiculous amount of resources.”  
  
Steve flicked his eyes towards her. If Amy wasn’t worried, he could relax at least a little. “Because you and Nat haven’t managed it yet?”  
  
“We are very good at our jobs.” Amy straightened her spine. There were exactly two people who had manged to avoid detection once she started seriously looking for them James Barnes and Bruce Banner, and she was about 30% sure Bruce wasn’t actually on the planet anymore. There had been a fair amount of cosmic flux around the time he went missing. Wormholes happened. She had asked her Grandmother to ask around. Everyone else she had located within six months. She hadn’t always managed to get to them right away, but she had found them.  
  
Steve reached over and squeezed her knee. They were very good at their jobs. They would find Bucky. And if they needed to, they would find whoever was trying to find Bucky. They were a team and together they could manage just about anything.


	49. Late Nights and Early Mornings

It was very late, and Steve’s rooms were very quiet. Most importantly as far as Steve was concerned, they were finally alone. Alone and out of their restrictive formal clothes. At least he was, Amy was still in the bathroom getting changed. Still he would rather sit on the side of the bed and wait for Amy than spend the night alone any day of the week. He lay back and closed his eyes and listened. He could hear Amy finishing getting ready for bed. Water ran, something clicked against the counter, the bathroom door opened. It was perfect.  
  
“Someone looks relaxed.” Amy teased as she returned from the bathroom. If there was a better sight than Steve in bed, she couldn’t think of it.  
  
“I am relaxed.” He propped himself up on one arm. He was relaxed and she was beautiful. With her shirt draped over her shoulder and her hair streaming down her back. She should be closer to him. He held out his hand.  
  
Amy smiled indulgently and came to straddle his knees. Steve tugged the shirt off her shoulder, she wouldn’t be needing it. Or maybe she would. A bright white rectangle covered most of the left side of her ribs.  
  
“You’re hurt.” Steve ran a hand over the bandage. He wasn’t sure how he had missed the white square under her largely see through dress. It wasn’t small. It also wasn’t in the right place for a broken rib. So probably a cut or a bruise of some kind. Either way his plans for the rest of the night should probably get shelved.  
  
“Not exactly.” Amy laughed and smoothed the tee-shirt covering Steve’s chest. This was the part she had been looking forward to. “Not the way you mean at least. I finally had my tattoo redone.”  
  
“Can I see?” he traced the bottom edge of the tape. She’s been trying to find time for months. Her tattoo was important to her.  
  
She batted his hand away with a wink. “Once it heals. I want you to see it the way it is meant to be seen.”  
  
They settled the bed. Steve leaning against the headboard, Amy between his legs with her back against his chest. Steve revelled in the soft moment alone with his girl. They had been in such short supply the last few months. Everything had been so hectic. They were still hectic, he didn’t think they would really start to calm down again until fall, based on the reports he had. They would have to steal what time together they could. Steve stroked his fingertips down and down her sides. “I should ask about what you’ve been doing and how the tours going. A good boyfriend would.”  
  
“A better boyfriend would know that the whole thing has been stressful and what I really need right now is for him to distract me.” Amy melted into him. She was her to relieve stress not relive it. She would much rather focus on right now.  
  
“And I’m a better boyfriend?” Steve asked. Eyes twinkling as he looked down the length of her body.  
  
Amy tipped her head so she could nip the spot under his jaw. “You are the best.”  
  
“Better distract you then.” Steve purred, his hands wandering back down to cup one of her breasts and stroke the inside of her thigh.  
  
“You know what it has been forever since I’ve done?” Amy flipped over in his lap. She was in the mood to spoil her boy. She hooked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers and tugged them down. She licked her lips. He was already half hard and she could not wait to get him in her mouth.  
  
“I thought I was distracting you?” Steve teased. He was very interested in where she was going with this.  
  
“You are.” Amy purred nuzzling his shaft. She licked a strip up the length, enjoying the feeling of him getting under her touch. She wrapped her hand around him and gave him a few long stroked to get him all the way there.  
  
Steve curled his fingers in her hair and let his head fall back. It was hard to argue when she put it like that. Everything was hard with her mouth on him, hot and wet. “God sweetheart. Do you know how often I wake up thinking about your mouth?”  
  
Amy smirked at him. She had an idea to drive him even crazier. She pulled off him long enough to lick one finger, before taking him back in her mouth.  
  
Steve groaned as she stroked at his asshole. The ring of muscle fluttering. He gasped and jerked up into her mouth as she pressed the finger inside him.  
  
Amy matched her movements. Sliding her finger in at the same time she pulled almost all the way off, then out as she swallowed him as deeply as she could without gagging. Repeating the motions over and over until she felt him getting close.  
  
She subtly curled her finger. Pressed against the cluster of nerves and sending an extra jolt of pleasure through him. The sensation made Steve’s eyes rolled back. She had him excruciatingly close. Another little curl of her finger and a swirl of her tongue sent him tumbling over edge of his climax. He shuddered and collapsed against the pillows.  
  
Amy kissed the sharp V of his hip. God he was glorious. She licked the corner of her mouth delicately. Glorious and delicious. She would happily go down on her knees for him any day of the week. She rolled over Steve and wiggling her way up to her place on the pillows. She propped herself on one elbow to look down at him. Her perfect boy so perfectly dishevelled.  
  
Steve combed his fingers through her hair. There was a touch of silver was starting to show at the temples and the black its self was just a shade closer to charcoal than ebony. He wondered if she had skipped getting it re-dyed in favour of seeing him. He wasn’t sure why the idea made him a little happy, but it did.  
  
What was really causing that was tightness in his chest was the soft way she was looking down at him. He was pretty sure no one else ever got to see this particular look on Amy’s face. Everything felt more special soaked as he was in afterglow. He had to wonder if she felt it too. “What are you thinking?”  
  
“Just trying to memorise this moment.” Amy kissed the palm of his hand. He was so much more than the one-dimensional hero people thought he was. Anyone would be lucky to get a fraction of his attention. And she had all of it. He loved her. All of her. Not just the pretty shiny pieces other people admired. Her rough and bloody bits too.  
  
_Love you._ Steve mouthed up at her. She laughed and blushed just like he’d hoped she would. She always seemed slightly shocked and embarrassed when told her he loved her. Almost as if she still didn’t entirely believe him. He needed to work on that. Then her mouth was on his and he didn’t have any free brain power for anything that wasn’t the way she was kissing him.  
  
*****  
  
If she had been sleeping alone, Amy would have resented the east facing windows. Thankfully she wasn’t sleeping alone. Not this morning. This morning there was a nearly flawless human being smiling at her across the pillows. It was hard to resent the early morning sun when it glided Steve’s hair and made his eyes sparkle. She wondered if there was a way to bottle this feeling. To capture this moment so she could pull it back out when they were apart. “Morning Handsome.”  
  
“Mmm. Morning beautiful.” Steve curled his fingers in her hair. He loved her when she first woke up. All of her edges still soft, before she put on her fierceness to face the day. He couldn’t have told you when she put on his tee-shirt last night, but he knew that he couldn’t think of anything that excited him more than the sight of it slipping off her creamy shoulder as she shifted against the pillows to press further into his hand. “Why did we waste any time sleeping?”  
  
“Because of how good the sleep was?” Amy stretched and draped herself across him. A full night with no nightmares. Not even any paranoid wakeups. Just hours of pure deep sleep with his arms around her.  
  
“Oh right. That.” Steve kissed her long and slow. There had to be a way for the to steal more time together. Some plan that would let them be on the same side of the planet for more than a few hours at a time. They both needed more nights like this. Restful nights together, no nightmares. Just good dreams and morning kisses.  
  
If only they could concoct some sort of official reason to be in the same place for extended periods of time. The S.H.I.E.L.D. office in Kyoto plan had fallen through. It would probably be wrong of them to use their combined influence to make Amy the Japanese ambassador to the States.... It was tempting though.  
  
The calendar on Steve’s phone dinged. He rolled over to check it, keeping his hand on Amy’s back and rolling her with him. Training time. He could skip. The guys would understand. Or… “Want to waste some more time? Come give Sam and Rhody a real fight. I think they are getting used to training with Nat.”  
  
Amy sat back on his hip. A predatory glint sparking in her eyes. “You want me to thrash your teammates around the training ring a few times?”  
  
Steve grinned. God, he loved that look. “And then come back here and…” He slipped his hands under her thighs. “Well, I think we can find something to keep us busy until you have to leave.”  
  
“Man with the plan indeed.” Amy purred. It was going to be a very fun day.  
  
*****  
  
Amy tossed her ponytail and stepped delicately out of the ring. She tossed the wooden staff she had borrowed back into the gear bin. “C+”  
  
“I’ll factor it into their final grades.” Steve muttered so only she could hear. She looked good. Hair slightly mussed. His tee-shirt still slipping off one shoulder, now showing of the strap of a sports bra instead of bare skin. Leggings showing off those perfect legs. She didn’t even look worn out after her workout.  
  
Her opponents were in significantly worse shape. Neither of them looked like they could actually move just now. Sprawled on the mats breathing hard. Rhody had what looked like it was going to be very impressive black eye coming in.  
  
“That wasn’t so bad.” Sam wheezed, passing Rhody a bottle of water with an underhand toss. “Three rounds. We gave her a real run for her money. I don’t know what you and Nat were going on about. She isn’t that much better. Not as tough as Natasha for sure.”  
  
Steve nodded thoughtfully. Watching Sam and Rhody chug their water. Neither of them was moving very fast yet. Sam seemed to be having trouble lifting his arms. “Yeah three rounds. Of course, she’s not even winded, we are probably going to do another workout of our own after this, and you are flat on your back after those rounds. But yeah. Respectable.”  
  
“Are you coming?” Amy called from the door.  
  
Steve grinned. “Yeah sweetheart. I’ll be right there.”  
  
“Starting without you.” She yelled over her shoulder. Steve wanted to give the boys a hard time. She could definitely help with that.  
  
“I have to go.” Steve stopped at the door, turning back to his exhausted friends. “Oh, one other thing. Amy is left-handed.”


	50. A kind of workout and “The Talk”

Steve grabbed Amy as soon as he got the door to his rooms closed behind them. Pressing her against the wall and sliding his hands under her shirt. He dropped his head and claimed her mouth, his teeth tugging at her lower lip. Amy kissed him back just as hungrily.  
  
“I love watching you fight.” Steve purred nipping at the side of Amy’s neck. He worked his hand under her bra, thumb running over her pert nipple. That elicited a gasp that he found very encouraging.  
  
He slid his other hand down the front of her pants. Her panties were already wet. He growled and shoved them to the side. She was always so ready for him. He rubbed his thumb over her clit. Pressing a finger into her at the same time.  
  
“That’s good. I kind of love fighting.” Amy tried to sound cool and unruffled but couldn’t help the catch in her voice as he worked the finger inside her. She leaned her head back against the wall. His hands were amazing. She grabbed his waistband and pulled him close. Between moans, she managed to work his pants down enough to fondle him.  
  
Pressed against the wall, they rushed through their first orgasms of the day. Both knowing that the rest of Amy’s visit would be short and wanting to fit as much in as possible.  
  
From the doorway they tumbled onto the couch, mouths and hands everywhere. Every article of clothing that came off revealed more skin that had to be kissed and licked. Steve knelt between Amy’s legs and did his best to pay her back for the night before. She came once on his tongue and again with two fingers curled inside her. He smiled and kissed the quivering skin of her thigh. That was three.  
  
Not that he wasn’t enjoying himself, but Steve didn’t want to fuck Amy on the couch... today. He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist so he could kiss her as he stumbled to the bedroom.  
  
Steve tossed Amy onto the bed. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of her sprawled naked in his bed. Perfect. A vision pulled from his dreams. Why wasn’t he kissing her right now?  
  
As soon as he followed her, Amy half tackled him and rolled on top. Grinding herself against him as she straddled his hips. Sliding against him the head of his penis rubbed against her clit at the end of every stroke. It felt amazing. She wanted more. “Condom?”  
  
“I got you sweetheart.” Steve spread his hand over her back pinning her against him as he leaned over and rummaged in the bedside table.  
  
Amy lifted up on her knees so he could line himself up. She bit softly at the hinge of his jaw. “I need you.”  
  
Steve growled and pulled her down onto him. He needed her too. Getting through training without tackling her had been an exercise in patients and he was over being patient. He had her now and he intended to make sure she thought about him when she closed her eyes.  
  
Amy had always preferred being on top. It had been a pragmatic choice for most of her partners, it was a less vulnerable position. With Steve it was different. It didn’t matter what position they were in Amy never felt exposed. She still preferred being on top. He always looked up at her so adoringly, and his angle was perfect. With her hands on his chest and his on her hips it was easy to find a rhythm that made them both moan and pant.  
  
Steve slid a hand between them, he found her clit and pinched it softly between his fingers. Amy was getting close again. “That’s it sweetheart. Show me how much you needed me.”  
  
Amy’s climax rocked through her, all her muscles shuddering. She muffled her scream in Steve’s mouth. He adored the feeling of Amy finishing when he was in her. The way she tightened and shook, there was nothing like it. He rocked into her a few more times to find his own orgasm.  
  
Steve wrapped his arms around her, cupping the back of his head and holding her close. They lay like that until the air started to cool their skin. Tangled together, their heartbeats reverberating though each other.  
  
Amy eased herself off him and collapsed onto the mattress. “Hmmm, now that is how you spend an afternoon.”  
  
Steve sighed and peeled the condom off. A flick of his wrist and it landed neatly in the trash. He wished he could spend any time of day like this. But there was no _reason_ for them to be together all the time. As long as their lives stayed like this these moments would be sporadic and stolen. “It was a lot more fun than what I am supposed to do tomorrow. I’m stuck at another fundraiser. I almost hoping there is a hostage situation or something so I can get out of it.”  
  
Amy sat straight up in bed. She had been so distracted she had almost forgotten. “I got you a present.”  
  
“You got me a present?” Steve kissed her side just below the bandage hiding her tattoo. What kind of present would she be distracted by right now?  
  
Amy half rolled off the bed to snag a folder out of her bag. She rolled back to his side so they could read the dossier together. “I used my flight over to write up mission specs for your next six social engagements. Most of them revolve around Art, but I did have to lean on history for the one on the eighth.”  
  
Steve laughed and pressed his face into her neck. If someone had tried to design a perfect life partner for him, they couldn’t have done a better job.  
  
An idea clicked into place. She was perfect. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together one way or another. There was a single simple elegant solution to how to make their time together official and acceptable to everyone. “Marry me.”  
  
Amy joined in his laughter. It was a ridiculous idea. They didn’t have time in their lives to be married. “Sure, _Mon Ours_, I’ll throw on a white dress and we can go down to the courthouse. We have…” She leaned over to check the alarm clock. “Six hours before I have to leave.”  
  
“I’m serious. We won’t rush into it. I haven’t even asked your father or bought you a ring yet. Would you wear a ring? We can get you a sword or something if you’d like that better.” He was babbling now. Babbling with how nervous and excited he was. This was it. This was the answer to their problems. Amy would be his. No one would be able to take her away from him. They would be together. “I don’t want to…. Well I want to have a long engagement anyway. Then we can talk about kids, James, Sarah, and what do you think, Natasha? She’d like that.”  
  
Amy’s throat closed. He wasn’t kidding. He had their whole lives planned out. Except he was forgetting some very important facts. “You’ve thought a lot about this.”  
  
“Of course.” They would have to talk about why he wanted that long engagement. About his promise to himself to not marry anyone as long as Peggy was alive. But Amy would understand. She was always so understanding about his past. It was one of the things he loved about her. At least being engaged would give her some standing in his life. No one would question why she was at his side. No one would complain when she was. No one would dare make comments about her past to him anymore. Where they would live was a question, but she had done her job from Washington before, New York wasn’t that different. Or she could officially join the Avenger, she helped them with intelligence all the time already.  
  
“Without talking to me.” She rolled off the bed. How could he just spring this on her? She could have handled a theoretical conversation. It would have been easy to point out the glaring issues with the plan in theory. But this? There were too many things that would get in the way. And Amy didn’t think she could even bring up the elephant in the room without breaking down.  
  
She had told him. She had told him that the night of Jun'ichi’s ultimatum and her fighting her way out had been a proposal. The last time a man had seriously proposed to her had been right before one of the most traumatic events of her life. The last proposal had been an attempt to manipulate her and have her betray everything that was important in her life.  
  
Less painful but still a barrier, were her responsibilities as a Fox. Any man she married would be on the hook for them too. Especially now. It would have been different if he had been a boring normal human. But he wasn’t. He boarded on godhood himself. There was no way they would be able to duck her great grandmother's attention if they were bound together. She couldn’t put that on him.  
  
And then there was Bucky...  
  
A buzzing noise had started in her ears. She couldn’t have a panic attack right now. She needed to slow her heart-rate. Where the hell where he clothes?  
  
Steve’s smile faltered. Why was she pulling away from him? She should be laughing and throwing herself into his arms. Wasn’t that what women who had just received a proposal from the love of their lives did? Or even if he wasn’t the ‘love of her life’ shouldn’t she at least say something? “Say you’ll marry me.”  
  
Amy pulled the sheet around herself defensively. The blood rushing in her ears was taking on a familiar too fast rhythm. “No.”  
  
“No? Just no?” Steve felt like he’s run face first into a brick wall. He’d asked her to marry him and she was running away. “Not even an ‘I need to think about it’?”  
  
“I don’t need to think about it.” Amy grabbed her underwear off the floor. She was too exposed for this. “Us getting married is a bad idea.”  
  
“Be reasonable. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Steve resisted the urge to pled.  
  
“It isn’t that simple, and you know it.” Amy snapped. What was wrong with what they had now? What they had now was simple. It was good. Getting married was not simple. There were issues. So many issues. Beyond just her insecurities. He would see them if he would just think.  
  
She was an imperial princess. She had to think about the repercussions of her marriage. Steve wasn’t a non-political option. No matter why she was marrying him, the international community would take it as a statement. He was _Captain America_ he might forget that when they were together, but he had responsibilities of his own. The world didn’t even know he was dating, let alone that he was dating her.  
  
And there was still Bucky.  
  
She couldn’t compete with the man he had been on love with most of his life. What happened when they found Bucky? He would tear himself into pieces trying to balance doing the 'honourable' thing with what his heart was telling him. She could protect him from that choice as long as they were only dating. Everything would be more complicated if they were married. Even being engaged would change things. She would hate herself if he started to resent her for a choice he felt he had to make.  
  
“It is that simple.” He needed her. She had never said no to something he needed before. She was his. She was always there for him, always understanding. Why not now? Did she not realise how important this was to him? Or maybe she didn’t want anything permanent? All the other men. She hadn’t even dated them. Maybe he wasn’t as different from them as he had thought. “I need you Amy. I can’t do all this shit without you on my side. People _expect_ me to get married, and I can’t imagine anyone but you as my wife.”  
  
Peggy. He had always imagined Peggy as his wife.  
  
Amy’s heart hardened. So, it was just the political aspect. Maybe he wasn’t as big of an idiot as she had thought. It didn’t make her feel any better about the whole thing. Making the politically expedient decision was all the more reason to talk to her about it first. At least it was if he thought of her as an equal political power. Which he obviously didn’t. If he did, he would have respected her enough to set their physical and romantic relationship aside and discuss it like the business proposition that kind of marriage should be. She wrenched on her pants and shirt. Tearing out part of a hem in the process.  
  
Steve watched that damn mask face she wore drop over her. She was hiding. She was still fucking hiding. She still didn’t want people to put two and two together and figure out that they were a real couple. Like he was her dirty little secret. “Unless, there is still something you’re not telling me? It can’t come as that much of a surprise that I want to get married. Was I just another one of your ‘distractions’? Was there ever even a moment when you thought we’d be together forever?”  
  
“How can you ask me that?” In love with someone else. In love with someone else. The words had been part of her heartbeat for the better part of a year. She had made sure that she never forgot that his love for her was temporary.  
  
“Then show me you want this to work. Because I don’t see a lot of hard evidence.”  
  
She was going to cry in a second. Cry and beg him to forget the past few minutes. Only she didn't cry, didn't beg... hadn't begged since Jun’ichi. Since a man almost broke her spirit. She wouldn't now. Couldn't now. Couldn't let this turn into what that relationship was at the end. “Don’t. Don’t try to make me prove myself to you. You know how I feel and if you don’t all the gestures in the world will still come across as hollow. I’m trying. It’s hard.”  
  
“Right. Hard. Because you’re so emotionally repressed you can’t even say ‘I love you’ like a normal human. If you won’t tell me, and you won’t tell the world. And I’m just supposed to _believe_ that you do. Sorry, I have a hard time taking everything of faith when I can’t rely on you to tell me anything.”  
  
Amy bristled. She told Steve more than she told anyone. The only people who knew more about her had lived through the worst times. And even there she hadn’t told them what she felt. The only people who might know more were Dai and her therapist. There were a few things she hadn’t told him. But they weren’t her secrets. She wasn’t _allowed_ to tell him everything her family had going on. That was bigger than either of them. And she would break that order for him if he asked the right questions. “What haven’t I told you?”  
  
“I don’t know." Steve growled. "I never know until it is biting me in the ass or you’re shoving me away with both hands.”  
  
“Why do you think I’m here?” Amy snapped. Shoving him away with both hands was she. Fourteen hours on a plane each way. All to spend a day with him when he needed her. What kind of proof did he need? Words were words, actions were important. He believed actions were more important. Except for hers apparently. Probably because she had ruined the pretty picture he wanted to paint for the world.  
  
“I don’t know. Why are you?” All he wanted was for her to stay. To say she loved him, and wanted to be with him and just _stay_ for once.  
  
“I’m having a hard time remembering just now.” Amy could feel a muscle starting to twitch in her jaw. She was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming at him.  
  
Steve fisted a hand in his hair. “I don’t know why you are being so difficult about this. Peggy would never...”  
  
Steve saw Amy’s eyes frost over as soon as he said Peggy’s name. It had been a mistake. He had always been so careful not to compare them. They were different. On a fundamental level they were different. Peggy had always known exactly how valuable she was. Whereas Amy never seemed to. And she worshipped Peggy, respected her almost more than he did. “I didn’t mean...”  
  
“No. You said exactly what you meant. You’re still hung up on the people from your past and I can’t compete. Not really. The magnificent Peggy Carter is a hard act to follow after all. To say nothing of sainted Sargent Barnes.” Amy spat back fists clenched. How dare he. She had tried so be supportive of his other relationship and the whole time... He wanted Peggy. He wanted her to replace Peggy Carter. She couldn’t. No one could. And now that they had reached the end of that illusion, what good was she?  
  
Steve reeled like she'd slapped him. She might as well have. She had always been okay with his past. Or at least he had thought she was okay with it. She had always listened when he wanted to talk. Humoured his speculations. And the entire time she’d had a problem with the people he loved. A big one judging by her tone. If she could hide that much venom what else could she hide?  
  
Amy was about two seconds from a full-blow panic attack. The kind she hadn’t had in years. She could feel power crackling under her skin ready to lash out. She needed air. Air and height. To get physically above the situation so she can get mentally above it.  
  
She forced her hands to relax before she did something stupid. This fight needed to stop. If they kept fighting like this. He would say something he couldn’t take back. Or she would break in a way she couldn’t recover from. They both needed to breath. Gods she couldn’t breathe. “Maybe I should leave.”  
  
“Maybe you should.” Steve turned away. Pressing a fist into the window frame. The relentlessly cherry view of the lake grating on him like sandpaper. She was running away. Amy was good at running away. He should have known her being back was too good to be true. She’d really only needed him to get her through her recovery. She’d been pulling away ever since. Her leaving had obviously been inevitable.  
  
He couldn’t watch her grab her bag and leave for the last time. It was hard enough to watch her go when she would be back. This was torture.  
  
Amy hesitated hand on the door handle. She hated to see him like this. Those broad shoulders slumped. Their proud bearing lost. All she wanted to do was curl around him and hold him until everything was alright. But right now, she couldn’t make it alright without compromising herself.  
  
He needed time. Once he calmed down, they would talk, everything would work out.  
  
She’d get right away for now, give him all the space he needed. Go home to Japan. She would come back when he called, or he could come to her. Things were always more comfortable in the peace of the Fox pavilion. There were fewer reminders of his past and of their places in the wider world. It could be their safe little bubble. They could hide themselves away and everything would be alright.  
  
She had to believe that things could still be alright. Could he just look at her so she would know the would be?


	51. Telling Other People Is The Hard Part

“I’m back! Stop making out and come look at what I found!” Nat hammered on Steve’s door. There was nothing like successful reconnaissance to put her in a good mood. And she had been very successful. The smugglers had known more than they could have hoped. Shift schedules, passcodes, names and positions of support staff. Everything they needed to raid the ‘import’ company was safely stored on the flash drive in her pocket.  
  
And she’d been able to acquire the flash drive before Amy had to be back in Japan. She couldn’t wait to show Amy and Steve what she had. They would order Chinese food and spend an evening brainstorming. It was always more fun with someone else who thought like her. Amis always appreciated the subtleties of her plans. She should help arrange more surprises for Steve. Anything to get her friend over here more often.  
  
Steve swung the door open and stepped aside to let her in. He gestured around the room. It was empty. “There’s no one here for me to make out with.”  
  
“What do you mean? Where is Aims? I thought I made it back in time to catch her. Did something happen in Indonesia?” Natasha frowned.  
  
Steve patted the door handle awkwardly. Why couldn’t this be one of the times Natasha just _knew_ things. He still hadn’t decided if he wanted to scream and punch something or stay perfectly still and pretend that the last twenty-four hours had been a bad dream. “I have no idea where she is or what she’s doing. We broke up.”  
  
Nat blinked several times, lips pinched together in a hard line. He was an idiot. It had to be him. Amy wouldn’t willingly leave him. Unless she had to make a political marriage? There would have been more led up to that though. Amy would have let her know it was happening before it came to this. Something else was going on here. “What do you mean you broke up? Again?”  
  
“She doesn’t love me Nat. There was no point in pretending.” Steve threw himself heavily onto the couch in his room. The same couch Amy had brought with her on her first visit. He would have to get a new one. This one had too many memories. If he closed his eyes, he could just about see Bucky sitting at the far end glaring at him. He was absolutely certain Bucky wouldn’t approve of how he had handled the end of the relationship. Bucky had always believed in ending a relationship on good terms, which explained why so many of the girls he had taken out had set him up with their friends.  
  
“Amy doesn’t love you....” Nat kept her voice perfectly level as she rolled the words around her mouth, starting at Steve’s jeans as she said it. Custom jeans, handmade and broken in to fit him specifically, only half broken in by today’s standards, stiff and hard wearing just the way Steve liked them. Jeans dyed with real indigo, so they were the right colour and made of American cotton, so they have the right weight. Jeans that he said felt like being home again. $2000 jeans that Steve would never buy for himself if he knew how much they cost. Jeans that Amy bought for him, and broken in herself. Amy had used her favorite whet stone to soften those pockets or Nat would eat her own jeans. He had eight nearly identical pairs, because he has a habit of tearing them when he is in a hurry and they weren't always repairable. Not the sort of present you bought for someone you were just sleeping with, even if you were as rich as Amy. “I think you’re going to need to start at the beginning.”  
  
*****  
  
Nat shook her head exasperated at the end of the explanation. Her friends were stubborn idiots. Both of them. Amy for leaving instead of just slapping Steve up the side of the head and telling him that she loved him but the two of them getting married was more complicated than that. Steve for springing the question on her and then letting her leave when she freaked out.  
  
There was nothing she could do about it short term. Not without medalling more than she was willing to. Long term she would wait for one of them to approach her for help. It wasn’t her relationship to fix after all. They would have to be adults and work it out on their own.  
  
For now, she would leave Steve to wallow and find someone else to plan with. Vision should be free, and Tony was around. She sighed. Tony’s plan would be effective, but it would lack subtlety. She missed Amy already. Maybe she would text her. Just to check in.  
  
*****  
  
N: Everything alright? Want me to punch him?  
  
A: I’m fine.  
  
A: We’ll be fine. He needs some time, but we can talk this out.  
  
N: You sure?  
  
A: I’m sure.  
  
*****  
  
“Your hands are shaking.” Dai leaned against the door frame, watching Amy arm herself for the day. She’d gone for a run as soon as she’d gotten back. A long one. Stopping just long enough to give some basic directions that he'd had to turn into practical orders, and taken off. She hadn’t done that since she’d gotten back together with Steve. Something was off.  
  
Amy tightened the strap on her arm guard, checking that the throwing knives were flat against her forearm. “I’m fine. Let’s just get through today.”  
  
Dai narrowed his eyes. That was strangely defensive. Something was definitely wrong. And if it had her this off balance something big. Had they found the Winter Soldier? “What happened in New York? What aren’t you telling me?”  
  
Amy turned away from him and settled her blouse so it didn’t cling to any of the knives on her person. “Nothing that you would be able to do anything about today.”  
  
If she told Dai about the fight or about the panic attack she hadn’t managed to repress on the plane, he would spend the rest of the day seething and trying to figure out the most efficient way of tearing Steve’s head off from halfway around the world. She needed his mind here. She needed Dai to pick up the slack, because there was no way she wasn’t going to be distracted. Every time her phone went off she jumped. None of the notifications had been from Steve so far. Amy was starting to resent the contact in Cleveland who thought she needed to deal with someone making contact with Karpov _right now_. Nat could handle it if it was really that important.  
  
Dai hugged her around the shoulders. She didn’t want to tell him right now. That was fine. He didn’t always need to know what was wrong to take care of her. She’d share when she was ready. “Okay. But it is an early night and you’d better eat your entire dinner.”  
  
Amy smiled at him. At least things with Dai would never change. He loved all of her without question. He never expected her to be perfect.  
  
She could be perfect though. Or at least she could fake it long enough to get them through today. Amy took a deep breath and pulled on her blazer. She was a goddess. Time to act like it.


	52. Deep Dive With the Guys

The gym at the Avengers compound occupied an entire basement level in the main building. Every piece of exercise equipment the best and brightest at S.H.I.E.L.D. could think of. Variants on as many of the machines as they could manage so they would actually stand up to Steve, or since it doubled as a testing space, to one of Tony’s suits. Weights ranging from the lightest standards available to irrationally heavy ones that had been custom made. Open space for sparing. Gymnastics equipment. A squash courts. Mirrors along one wall to check technics. An infinite climbing wall, that thanks to Tony, moved the holds so you couldn’t find a pattern.  
  
Normally it was a hub of activity, agents and support staff working out. One or two of the Avengers working on their conditioning. A yoga or martial arts class going on. Today it was quiet. Just Steve, Sam, and Rhody.  
  
Rhody was running through a long multi-phase circuit. Sam was doing some weight training with Steve spotting him. Steve was taking the opportunity to talk at Sam about the… fight? Break up? Incident?... With Amy.  
  
Steve kept one hand under the laden bar as Sam pressed it towards the ceiling over and over. “She just freezes up when you confront her about something. Like when I tried to talk to her about Brian, I got up set and she shut down and left.”  
  
“You know for a chick you’re 'over', you still talk about her a lot.” Rhody said wiping his neck and moving from lunges to the chin up bar. The last few days had essentially been Steve moping and everyone tiptoeing around him. Anytime someone asked him directly, he would insist that everything was fine and that he was pretty much over Amy anyway. No one believed him.  
  
“I’m just trying to figure out what went wrong.” Steve replied evasively. It was true. He wanted to know what had gone wrong, partly to avoid a situation like it if he ever found someone he wanted to date again and partly so that if they ever ran into time travel while they were working, he could go back and fix it.  
  
“I don’t know.” Rhody grunted adjusting his grip while suspended. “But it looks like Sam has some ideas.”  
  
“Sam?” Steve asked looking down at his friend.  
  
“It's nothing.” Sam sat up rubbing his neck. Not exactly nothing. His councillor senses were tingling.  
  
“Sam.” Steve growled lifting the plates off the bar. He hated when people tried to protect him by not telling him things. It never worked and he just ended up blindsided.  
  
“Okay look. I’m on your side in this. Things weren’t working out. Better to end it before someone got hurt.” Before they got seriously hurt. Sam amended internally. Steve kept crushing whatever he was holding when something reminded him of Amy… They were going through a lot of mugs… And from the way Nat was still glaring at Steve, Amy wasn’t entirely okay either…  
  
There was someone else he could check with if he really wanted to know how she was... He was a little afraid of the answer. He wasn’t sure his heart could handle bit if the answer bead 'holed up in an English country Manor with a Viscount to keep her company.'  
  
“But?” Steve prompted, sensing there was more to that statement.  
  
“But that kind of sounds like a coping mechanism to shut down a panic attack. I’m not her therapist so I couldn’t say for sure. But....” Sam wondered how to word this so it was clear that he wasn’t blaming Steve. All of this was Ayame’s hang up. If she couldn’t deal with an adult relationship it was her job to be in front about that, not Steve’s job to try and fix it. “Look you said Aims was in a pretty bad abusive relationship, right? So romantic partner stress is probably a trigger for her. She might shut down if she sees a fight coming because she can’t handle it. It’s not a terrible strategy. Some professionals encourage it. Especially if the patient has violent attacks. Shut down before you overload. Remove yourself from the situation. Deal with the emotions in bite sized pieces in a safe space.”  
  
Rhody came over and leaned against the weight rack. Bad enough that Steve was off his game. But this whole thing had Natasha on edge too. Rhody for one was tempted to side with Nat. Steve had some glaring blind spots and it wasn’t like he’d had a lot of successful relationships before Ayame. “Did you ever talk to her about what her triggers were?”  
  
“No... She didn’t like to talk about it. I didn’t want to push...” Steve thought about the few conversations they’d had that bordered on the topic. “But yeah. It is a pretty safe bet that having the person she was sleeping with yell at her makes the list.”  
  
Rhody sighed. He hated getting dragged into people's romantic problems. “Look. I don’t want to be _that_ guy, I do it too much for Tony, but if you’re this broken up about it, you could always apologise. I don’t recommend just showing up with a bottle of wine and her body weight in roses. It never works out as well as you hope it will.”  
  
“Speaking from experience?” Sam teased.  
  
Rhody rolled his eyes. “Tony has tried it… twice.”  
  
“I don’t think this is an apologise and thing will get better kind of fight. I think this is a communicate only through friends from now on kind of fight. She said some things. I said some things….” And then she had walked out. Steve blew out a long stream of air and sat down on the weight bench next to Sam. “I didn’t think my expectations were all that high. The only thing I asked when she came back was for her to promise not to lie to me.”  
  
“And?” Sam asked. He was glad Steve was finally talking about the breakup. ‘I’m fine’ wasn’t a great way to work through issues.  
  
Steve shrugged. “And after that she never told me she loved me.”  
  
“She told you before?” Rhody asked. He would have dropped that relationship fast. Going from 'I love you' to nothing with a promise not to lie in the middle. That was a pretty big red flag in his mind.  
  
“Not exactly...” Steve tugged at a fist full of hair. This wasn’t helping as much as he had hoped it would. Amy had never said she loved him. The closest she had come had been when she had explained why she didn’t say ‘I love you’. Thinking about that night wasn’t helping either. Not with Nat as mad at him as she was.  
  
*****  
  
This time Steve knew without question that it was a dream. He had spent enough dream time here. A corner apartment half way up one of the better buildings in Brooklyn. From the living room window, you could see across the water to Manhattan.  
  
He was in the master bedroom. Distinctive smells washing over him from the pillows on either side of his head. Brill cream, lucky strike cigarettes, aftershave. Sandalwood, smoke, summer flowers. He knew what he would find if he got up. He eased himself off the bed, curious if the dream would be the same now that he and Amy weren’t together.  
  
He stepped into the main room. The apartment hadn’t changed at all. The same art hung on the walls. The same big leather couch dominated the living room. And in the kitchen…  
  
There was Amy, barefoot, dressed in a silky nightgown and untied robe. Strands of hair escaping from the loose bun on top of her head. Bucky chased her around the kitchen, shirtless with pajamas slung low around his hips, his arm glinting in the morning light. Complicating her attempt to make tea by rubbing his stubble against the soft skin of her neck, or by pushing her robe down around her shoulders so he had access to kiss her spine. Both happy and laughing. Bucky pulled her close. Wrapping his arms around her waist under her robe. Dipping his head and whispering something in her ear.  
  
Steve waited for them to spot him. For Bucky’s eyes to flash. For Amy to break into a wide smile. For one or both of them to reel him in for a hug and a kiss. For the dream to end the way it had so many times.  
  
That wasn’t what happened.  
  
Amy saw him first. And froze. Slowly drawing in on herself, fear growing in her eyes. She pulled back, pressing into the edge of the counter. Trying to escape without drawing attention to herself.  
  
Bucky growled and lifted Amy away from Steve, putting as much of himself between Steve and the shrinking figure as possible. He glared at Steve, tucking Amy firmly behind him. “Get out of here. I’m not going to let you hurt her again.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve jerked awake. Soaked in a cold sweat and gasping for air.  
  
This was ridiculous. Steve scowled at his ceiling. Even in his dreams? Couldn’t he have a moment’s peace from it all. He hadn’t hurt her. He could never hurt her. His brain needed to get it’s shit together. And he needed to stop thinking about Amy.  
  
*****  
  
“Get up.” Steve tossed a hoody at Sam’s head.  
  
“Steve?” Sam jolted awake. It took him a moment to get his bearings. He scrabbled for his alarm clock. It hadn’t gone off. Neither had his phone for an emergency call. “It’s four in the morning.”  
  
“Yup.” Steve dug a pair of joggers out of Sam’s drawer and tossed them on the bed too. “I can’t sleep. It is your fault I can’t sleep. You get to keep me company while I burn off some energy.”  
  
“You’re a bad friend.” Sam grumbled pulling on the clothes.  
  
“Maybe. Get your shoes.” Steve bounced on his toes. He needed to move. He needed to move a lot.  
  
Steve wasn’t the worst friend. He didn’t expect Sam to run with him. Instead he left Sam sitting on a bench by the track, nursing a thermos full of strong coffee, his breath fogging the air in front of his face. They would exchange a few words as Steve passed him, then Steve would be back off on another lap.  
  
They didn’t talk about Amy. Why Steve couldn’t sleep. Or why they were outside slowly freezing so he could run instead of inside destroying a few punching bags. Steve was out of punching bags. Permanently from the looks of it. He had called Tony to see if he'd had any luck replicating the fabric that made them so durable. So far nothing. There was some trick to synthesising all the fibres together into a cohesive fabric. He was going to keep working on it. Natasha had a few of her own slightly lighter model left. She had taped a big 'Steve do not touch or I will slowly skin you’ sign to them. He was pretty sure she meant it.  
  
The sun was firmly up. Sam had run out of coffee an hour ago. Steve was still running.  
  
Rhody waved at Sam from the balcony, gesturing at his watch and at the waiting jet.  
  
Sam waved back and flagged Steve down on his next pass. “I gotta go. Rhody and I have a few things to do before we head to California next week. You gonna be all right?”  
  
Steve wiped his face on his shirt. He should probably get ready for work. He still had a day job after all, and that meant reports to sign off on and emails to answer. “Yeah. I'll be fine. Tomorrow is another day, right? I’ve got the board meeting on Monday. We’re looking at buying a second house over by Saint Jude’s.”  
  
“Save the children. That sort of thing.” Sam laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. Steve was always happier after one of his charity meetings. Sarah Roger’s Memorial Foundation was doing unambiguously good work and it was one of the few places where Steve actually got to call the shots, and no one got hurt. “Alright. Stay sharp man. Call if you need anything.”  
  
“I will.” Steve smiled at him reassuringly. He would be fine.  
  
“I’m serious Steve.” Sam squeezed the shoulder. Steve took too much responsibility on himself. He didn’t have to carry the world alone. “Anything at all. Even just another chat.”  
  
Steve patted the hand. “I will Sam. And thanks.”


	53. A second Attempt at “The Talk”

The plan had been for Amy to arrive a full hour before the start of the meeting. A delayed flight and traffic on the way into Manhattan had quashed that plan. Which meant there was no chance to talk to Steve before everyone else arrived. No chance to do anything before anyone arrived since she was the last board member to arrive. Steve was already seated at the head of the table, his steal blue shirt and grey wool pants both impeccably crisp. A brand-new notebook open in front of him.  
  
Amy settled into her seat at the conference room table. She could feel Steve watching her. Let him watch, she looked good and she knew it. Charcoal grey skirt suit, white blouse with the great wave embroidered on the collar, navy heals also with the great wave painted on the soles, and simple pearl earrings. Effortless, elegant, worthy of being at his side. They even matched. She let her eyes flick to his, deep purple to sky blue.  
  
Steve stared at Amy. What was she even doing here? She couldn’t want to be here. Not this soon after they had broken up. Why hadn’t she just given someone her proxy? Didn’t she have some big thing Jakarta this week? Natasha had said something along those lines. At least he thought she had. She had been talking to Rhody at the time. And he hadn’t been listening. Not really. Damn it all. Why had Natasha stopped talking when he broke his mug? He had a strong grip. Things broke sometimes.  
  
Amy looked amazing.  
  
She always looked amazing.  
  
Looks weren’t the issue.  
  
Steve wrenched his mind back to the task at hand. Get through this meeting. Then he could deal with his Ayame problem.  
  
The meeting at least went well. The education program was going well. Pepper’s idea for a precedence setting lawsuit to allow minors to seek vaccination without parental consent had found a test case. The Sarah Rogers house was full, and the families loved it. It looked like they would be able to buy and open two more locations by the end of the year. The board didn’t fight over things either. They debated rationally and looked at the numbers. If they didn’t have enough information, they tabled things for the next meeting.  
  
Steve was incredibly grateful for his organised board today. Try as he might he couldn’t ignore Amy. She was rolling her pen between her fingers and not taking any notes at all. Always prepared Amy not taking note. She wasn’t preparing for the future anymore. That was it. She was here to wrap things up neatly  
  
Amy was only half listening as they ran through the agenda. Nothing major seemed to have changed since she proofed the documents for the lawsuit or helped narrow down the listings they were looking at for new locations. The financials were a little weaker than expected. That was alright, she could make some calls next week, after she finished up in Jakarta . Although long term they might want to think about an annual fundraising dinner. She would email the outreach coordinators after the meeting so they could put together a presentation for the next meeting.  
  
The meeting ended with a quick recap of the kids who had recovered and been able to return home from the Sarah Rogers house. Steve had suggested it last meeting as a way to remind them that these were real children not just numbers. It made Amy’s heart soar to hear how much of a difference they had made already. This was exactly what her boy needed in his life. Something uncomplicatedly good.  
  
The rest of the board and all the staff filed out. Leaving Steve to clean up, and Amy hovering just inside the door.  
  
Amy folded her arms around her notebook. She hadn’t been able to focus at all. Her tactical pen didn’t centre her the way a real weapon would. At least this had largely been a status meeting. With everything going to plan, she didn’t feel too bad letting her mind run through permutations of her apology. She shouldn’t feel so defensive about talking to him. They just needed to talk. He had time to cool off. Her Steve was always reasonable when he had time to consider the facts.  
  
The last straggler filtered out of the doorway. They were alone. It was time to start the hard conversation. She had a private room a Momofuku reserved for the main portion. She anticipated tears on at least one front and didn’t want to be stuck in public when they happened. “Hi.”  
  
She reached for his arm. He stepped out of reach to tidy away the water glasses.  
  
“Good meeting. Productive I thought.” Amy smoothed her skirt. He wasn’t looking at her. He was still hurt. She could understand that. She had bruised his pride. It would take time, but they could recover from that. If they just talked about it, they could recover from anything. Hadn’t they proved that. She hesitated. He still hadn’t acknowledged her. She would have to start. “I was thinking…”  
  
Steve straightened his papers. Why was she here? It had been enough of a surprise that she had come to the meeting at all, let alone that she had stuck around until they were alone. She could have finished cutting ties without seeing him again. She probably thought coming in person would soften the blow. “It would probably be better if you did.”  
  
Amy paused. That was not an answer she had expected. What would be better if she did? All the things she thought they needed were collaborative. She couldn’t do them alone. “I’m going to need you to say it out loud. So, I know we are on the same page.”  
  
He closed his eyes. So much for softening the blow. Maybe she was here to make sure it hurt him as much as possible. That would make sense too. Everyone said she could be vindictive, maybe he finally got to see that side of her. “It would be better if you resigned from the board.”  
  
Resign from the board. He wanted her to resign. Which meant he didn’t want to see her even the four times a year that the board met. Which essentially meant he never wanted to see her again. He really had wanted her to leave. To leave and not come back. They weren’t going to talk. They weren’t going to make up. She had made it clear that she couldn’t be the Peggy Carter copycat that he wanted her to be, so he was done with her.  
  
She needed to get out of here. “They’ll have my letter by the end of the day.”  
  
Amy turned on her heel and strode from the room without looking back. She needed to be folded Steel. Hard, sharp, unbending, unbreaking. She needed to hold herself together until she was safely out of here.  
  
*****  
  
“What the hell did you do?”  
  
Steve looked up. That was not the angry redhead he had expected.  
  
Nat was still a little pissy with him. All her status updates from her current mission had been one or two words at most. If she had come back and started lecturing him right away without letting him catch her up he wouldn’t have been surprised. He had not expected an enraged Pepper. Why was she here? Was Tony here? “What?”  
  
“Why did I get an email reassuring me that your charity was fine and not to worry about the turnover on the board? That your funding was secure and there was no reason to worry.” Pepper asked brandishing her phone.  
  
So, she had sent in her resignation letter. No one would ever call Amy inefficient. That was the last tie holding them together. From here on out it was unlikely they would run into each other. Not if both of them made an effort to avoid one another. That thought should ease some of the pain in his heart. It didn’t. “Amy and I broke up and we agreed it probably wasn’t a good idea for her to stay on the board.”  
  
Pepper pursed her lips in irritation. Did none of the men in her life understand simple concepts? Steve was normally the emotionally intelligent one. “You kicked your primary fund raiser and the reason that half of your board members joined off the board!”  
  
“She chose to resign. It will be fine Pepper. Amy isn’t irreplaceable.” Steve said placatingly. God, he wished he believed that.  
  
Pepper’s phone was blowing up she had a million and a half things going on in her life that didn’t involve idiot males and the stupid decisions they made. “I can’t deal with this this week. You need to send out an email to the board laying out the new strategy, and don’t expect me to hold your hand through it.”  
  
“What new strategy?” And what did Pepper mean primary fundraiser? Steve felt like a deer in headlights, or maybe one who hadn’t gotten out of the headlights. He was still coming to grips with all the pies Amy had had fingers in. He could do everything without her. He could. He just had no idea how.  
  
“I said I’m not holding your hand.” Pepper snapped back at him. She was in no mood to be patient with superhero’s today. Not after another round of Tony being Tony.  
  
Steve watched her go, still feeling poleaxed. It had been a rough twenty four hours. He couldn’t wait for Sam and Nat to get back from their respective missions. He needed his friends. Even if one of them was still mad at him. Sam was only in California. If he worked at it Steve could rearrange some of his meetings and fly out there.  
  
*****  
  
Amy curled into a tighter ball, pulling the blanket over her head. Her mouth tasted like blood. She had ruined everything. The most amazing guy had been in love with her and she had ruined it. She took a deep breath. The blanket made her world smell like Dai. At least she still had Dai. No matter what she still had Dai. Dai, half her soul, the only person she could count on to understand and believe in her no matter what. Dai who had wrapped her in a blanket and promised her he would take care of everything.


	54. Friends are always there for you

Five miserable days. Five days spent laying on Dai’s couch. Five days living off smoothies and refusing to move more than she had to. That was how long Amy’s friends gave her to wallow. Fredrick made sure she always had something to drink within arms reach. Kiki spent one of the days curled around Amy as the big spoon. Stroking her hair while brightly coloured characters went on whimsical adventures on the tv.  
  
Then Dai rolled her out of her cocoon and into the shower. Washed, dressed, and fed a solid meal Amy started to feel human again. A little bubble of warmth started to grow in her chest. She still had her friends. She still had her work. She still had a life and a future.  
  
The bubble was almost snuffed out when Dai dropped her suitcase in front of her. “You’re going to joint training. You promised Matt you would be there to help with hand to hand. And it will be good for you. Go. Spend a few days showing off. You can play the ice queen between sessions and scare everyone off. But you need to go do something.”  
  
Amy knew he was right. Inactivity was never good for her mental health. But did it have to be in the states? Couldn’t she just go break up an arm smuggling ring in Bulgaria?  
  
*****  
  
There was a murmur from the assembled crowd of soldiers. Special forces from every branch of the American military and most of their allies. All staring in wonder as a girl half their size demolished their times on one of the hardest amphibious obstacle courses in the world. She had practically sprinted over the jumping platforms. The hanging net hadn’t slowed her down any more than a fence would have. The only thing left was the rope climb and swing. Most people took several swings to work up enough momentum to reach the finishing bell. Close to half missed their catch on the rope and dropped into the pool.  
  
Amy threw herself from the last platform in the obstacle course, snatching the thick rope easily with one hand. She rang the bell at the top of her first arc and launched herself free of the rope and into the pool. The somersault was probably overkill. Showmanship counted for something though. And showing off at joint training was always fun. The audience fully appreciated her skills. She may have messed up the best thing in her life, but at lest she was still good at something.  
  
Three long breast strokes and she was at the side of the pool. A familiar pair of boots met her. Perfectly polished black leather with dark khaki fatigues tucked into them. This was not the first time she had met them at the edge of a pool and she would be disappointed if it was the last.  
  
Brian grinned down at her. He hadn’t been entirely sure she would come. Not after some of the rumours swirling around her. Although if there was one thing the goddess was good at it was ignoring rumours. She had an incredible ability to decide whose opinion mattered and disregard, and occasionally disparage, everyone who didn’t meet her criteria. He envied her that. He extended a hand to help her out of the water. “Heard you were here.”  
  
Amy accepted his hand and let him pull her out of the pool. Ignoring the tinge of memory that reminded her of the last time someone had helped her out of a pool. How much more fun it had been to be flicked into the air like she weighed no more than a feather rather than dragged out with an effort. She needed to stop thinking about Steve all the time. She needed to focus on why she was here. “One of the best places to find anyone that can actually keep up with me.”  
  
“Really these slow pokes?” Brian looked at the time clock. Ayame had beaten the official course record by a full thirty seconds.  
  
Amy snorted. The SEAL amphibious obstacle course wasn’t really a challenge compared to some of the ones she had trained on as a child. And nothing compared to what she did regularly in real life. “You’re here.”  
  
Brian laughed and tossed her a towel. Bantering with Ayame was exactly the pick-me-up he had need. Even if it wasn’t quite as snappy as it was when she was at her best. Her smile still hadn’t reached her eyes. “Shall we get out of here? Grab a bite?”  
  
“With you? Always.” Amy rubbed the towel over her hair to get most of the water out and took his arm. Lunch without an audience sounded great. So did the unspoken offer to talk through what had happened. Dai and Kiki were both too biased in her favour. Every time she had tried to bring it up with them, they had bristled and told her she deserved better. The only problem with that was Amy had no idea what _better_ would even look like. They also wouldn’t entertain the idea that the breakup had been in any way her fault. Amy was convinced that if she had done a better job of explaining her past and her family, Steve wouldn’t have felt like she wasn’t behind him. Maybe he still wouldn’t have been able to handle everything, but she was sure he would at least have been gentle with her.  
  
*****  
  
Amy unpacked the contents of the red and white paper bag onto the slightly sticky table. Four burgers and three orders of fries joined two milkshakes, one chocolate one Strawberry. “Nothing like a greasy American burger. Have you had their fries before?”  
  
Brain rolled his eyes and snagged one of the golden-brown crispy sticks. “Call them chips like a civilised human, and stop trying to change the subject.”  
  
“I’m not trying to change the subject.” Amy grabbed the strawberry milkshake and leaned back in her chair. She was trying to change the subject. Somehow during the drive from the base to In and Out Burger Brian had wormed pretty much the entire story out of her.  
  
“You are.” Brian flicked the fry at her. They had been halfway through a conversation on the drive here. “That idiot broke up with you, because he thought you couldn’t take care of yourself?”  
  
“Don’t call him an idiot.” Amy glared at him over her shake. Not that she hadn’t called him an idiot on a number of occasions. She didn’t like when other people did though. It hadn’t been Steve’s fault. She should have made sure he understood her life. She should have found a way to tell him everything. She shouldn’t have pretended that their life in DC was separate from their real lives. “There was a breakdown in communication. Important facts were excluded. I assumed things as much as he did.”  
  
“Right.” Brian didn’t sound convinced. He took a big bight out of his burger before he continued. “So he figures out his mistake. Spends several months trying to win you back. In a moment of weakness, he tells you he loves you.”  
  
“He did….” Amy wasn’t sure if she meant he had loved her or had told her he loved her. She was pretty sure both were true. She hoped his love wasn’t past tense. Gods, she wished he was here. Or she was there. She would rather sit around with her head in Steve’s lap than anything she was going to do this weekend.  
  
Brian ignored her internal struggle. “Then you left without saying anything.”  
  
“I mean I screamed his name a few times but essentially.” Amy dissembled. It was hard to deny that she looked like a bad guy in that story. She was the bad guy in that story. Steve deserved better than someone who would run away when he told them he loved them. He deserved someone who could say it back.  
  
Brian watched her eyes darken. She was missing the point. It wasn’t just that he had told her he loved her and then vanished. It was what had happened after. “And then you basically died in front of him.”  
  
“Not exactly how I would characterise it but close enough.” It hadn’t been in front of him. Dai had gotten him away before she had done anything stupid.  
  
Brian made a point of drinking loudly from his shake over her attempt to dodge the facts. Too many people handled Ayame with kid gloves. “Then when you came back you apologised and basically picked up where you left off before the whole misunderstanding break up thing.”  
  
Amy sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. “I missed him. He missed me. We just fell back together. It was easy.”  
  
That was the part that confused him. By all accounts it shouldn’t have been easy. They were both strong personalities with complicated pasts. They should behave been fighting all the time. Unless one of them had deferred to the other. And only one of them had been raised to be deferential. Ayame must have bent until she broke for him. Something she hadn’t done for any man as long as Brian and Ayame had been friends. “You know what is strange? You stayed. Despite the fact he was also in love with two other people. One of whom is his childhood best friend with a tragic back story, who needs rescuing. And unrelated but I think it bares mentioning, who _shot you_. And the other who is my beloved godmother and also dying dramatically and in such a manner as to make him forget she has any flaws.”  
  
“When you say it like that, it sounds bad.” She fiddled with the fries. She had stayed. She would have stayed longer.  
  
“Not sure how to make it sound good.” Brian sighed. It had been years since he had seen her so shaken. She looked smaller than he had seen her since she had recovered her confidence. How had Dai let her out of his sight? Brian wanted to wrap a her in a blanket and hide her away from the world. “So, he was in love with two people, both of whom are arguably amazing, but also aren’t _around_ as such. Which makes it easy to put them on a pedestal. And wonderful, but inarguably broken you.”  
  
Amy flicked a fry despondently. There was no argument, Peggy and Bucky were absolutely amazing. “That is about the shape of it yes.”  
  
“Never thought I’d see the day the goddess settled for third in anything.” Brian popped a fry of his own into his mouth. Ayame didn’t lose. She didn’t even settle for second. Honestly it was a problem. One he didn’t think she had gotten over.  
  
“He's Captain America. No one was settling for anything.” Amy closed her eyes. Sweet naïve Brian, he had absolutely no idea.  
  
Brian raised an eyebrow. The field wasn’t exactly flat. “You’re literally a goddess. People pray directly to members of your family. And don’t think I haven’t heard you’re getting a shrine of your own. I would have thought your hair would have changed now that you’ve turned your collar, but then you always were unique.”  
  
“My hair did change. I’ve been dying it. And Steve’s just so….” Amy trailed off. Perfect? Genuinely kind and caring? Almost a god himself? The safest she’s ever felt? How could she explain the wonder that was Steve to someone with no real contact with him? He was so surreally wonderful. Too good for this world, but completely down to earth. Forgiving and compassionate, but always ready to fight for what he believed in. Self confident, but always trying to prove himself. And for a brief shining period he had been _hers_. “He’s Steve.”  
  
Brian recognised the softness in her eyes. She still thought he could do no wrong. “Inherently too good for this world?”  
  
Amy sighed and leaned forward, resting her head on the table. Too good for the world and too good for her. “It was the first time we fooled around together. He grabbed the back of my head, just instinctively… and it didn’t totally freak me out. Because he was Steve. Because I knew, I just _knew_ that he would never hurt me like that. That’s when knew he was as close to perfect as anyone could be. And I messed it all up.”  
  
Brian’s protective instincts roared to life. Ayame was crumbling inside. He needed to distract her before she had a breakdown in public. His friend didn’t need to hate herself anymore than she did right now. “And he asked _you_ to marry him?”  
  
“You don’t have to sound so surprised.” Amy bounced a fry off his chest. Brian of all people shouldn’t question why someone would want to marry her. “He’s stuck being a political figure whether he wants to be or not. On paper I sound like a great political wife. You’ve said so yourself.”  
  
“What if it wasn’t a political move?” Brian leaned back in his chair again. Ayame tended to jump to the worst conclusion first. Not that he was complaining, it had saved his life on a number of occasions, but it wasn’t an ideal attitude for a romantic relationship.  
  
Amy bit her lip and didn’t say anything. That didn’t make it any better. That meant she had been fooling him into thinking she was a good person the whole time.  
  
Brian recognised that look in her. That was her inadequate face. “Ahhh so you think he put you up on the pedestal too, you didn’t want to fall off, so you jumped.”  
  
“Yes. No. I don’t know. It’s complicated.” Amy groaned and hid her face in her hands. How did he see through her like this?  
  
“Says the girl who once solved the Eurozone in twenty minutes while drunk.” Brian sipped his milkshake pointedly. There were very few problems Ayame couldn’t work out, and most of the ones she struggled with seemed to be related to her own heart.  
  
“That was different.” Amy waved away his point. No one had listened to her anyway.  
  
Brian laughed. “You’re right. The Eurozone involves more than four people.”  
  
Amy just glared at him. If the solution to this problem was as easy as stabilising a currency across dispirit nations, she would have solved it already. Flexible interest rates and re-instituting resource backing weren’t going to do anything here.  
  
Brian let her eat some of her meal in peace. “Okay. One question.”  
  
“What?” Amy narrowed her eyes and set down her burger.  
  
Brian leaned forward on his elbows meeting her eyes with intense focus. “How do you get yourself into these situations?”  
  
“Brian!” Amy threw another fry at him.  
  
“Sorry. Sorry.” Brian raised his hands in contrition. It wasn’t fair. This was unique. Normally she was the object of the unrequited love, not the one pining. “Are you still in love with him?”  
  
“Yup. And I’m pretty sure he hates me.” Amy sucked at her milkshake. Life would be so much easier if she could just turn off her feelings.  
  
“That sucks.” Brian lifted his drink in an ironic salute.  
  
“It really does.” Amy tapped hers against his. Supportive friends were the best thing in the world. They returned to eating in companionable silence. There really wasn’t anything else to say. She would be fine, she just needed time and distance from the situation.  
  
Brian’s head snapped up. Their table was at the back of the restaurant, with the afternoon crowds screening the entrance. But he would know that laugh anywhere. He dreamed about that laugh. He was pretty sure he would keep dreaming about that laugh no matter how long it had been since the last time he had called. “Is that?”  
  
Amy narrowed her eyes and tipped her head to get a better look at the pair of men approaching the counter. They were familiar but it couldn’t be them. Even her luck couldn’t be that bad. “No way. Why would they even be here? Sam and Rhody both have better places to be than a burger place in So Cal…. Unless…”  
  
Tony Stark stepped into the restaurant.


	55. Genius, Billionaire, Protective Friend

Brian tossed his fry onto the table. “Unless it is joint training week, and someone asked Stark to come speak. Then they might tag along to keep him out of trouble.”  
  
“And catch up with old friends.” Amy frowned. Brian seemed just as shocked as she was. “You didn’t know he was coming?”  
  
Brain rubbed the back of his neck. He missed Sam. “He hasn’t taken my calls since you and Cap had your bust-up.”  
  
Amy squeezed his arm. “I’m Sorry Bri. I didn’t mean to drag your relationship down with mine.”  
  
“Not your fault.” Brian shook his head. Maybe Sam hadn’t been as smitten as he was. He wanted to talk to him. But he didn’t want it to feel like an ambush. “Are they looking this way?”  
  
“I don’t think they’ve spotted-“ Amy glanced at the counter again. Tony was looking directly at her. “Shit.”  
  
Sam and Rhody tried to pull him away, Tony however was fixated in Amy. He ignored his friends pleading and pulled a chair up to Brian and Amy’s table. “This is cozy.”  
  
Amy stiffened, geisha mask falling into place. She didn’t like the accusation in his tone. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was having lunch with a friend. Even if she was still attached there was nothing untoward happening. And, as the hollow spot in her chest reminded her, she was very much unattached.  
  
“I’m just going to…” Brian watched Sam leave Rhody to collect the order and back out the door with a nervous look at their table. He gave Ayame’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She would be alright. She was a big girl. She could handle Tony Stark on her own for a few minutes… The restaurant needed to replace their tables anyway... He would hurry. “…step outside and get some air. Don’t burn the place down.”  
  
“No promises.” Amy grumbled. Her face felt cold, her skin prickled.  
  
Tony drummed his fingers on the table as he watched the sniper jog out of the restaurant. Steve deserved better than his ex girlfriend rebounding with some pretty boy duke. What ever happened to unconditional love? To caring for someone through thick and thin. For appreciating them for who they were and not trying to change them. “What is Steve going to think when I tell him you are out for lunch with your old fuck buddy?”  
  
Amy bristled. How dare Tony talk to her like that, as if he hadn’t slept with any pretty girl that crossed his path before Pepper. He of all people should know how things changed when you found the right person. “He can think I’m sleeping my way through all of JSOC for all I care. He doesn’t get to have an opinion on who I sleep with now. Steve broke up with me. “  
  
“Yeah he did.” Tony said crossing his arms over his chest and rocking forward. “How long ago was that again?” How could she even look at someone else this soon after everything. Did she think the world was her plaything? Just because she was pretty and smart and had the most amazing blue eyes and red hair… he was getting distracted. This was about Amy and her betray of one of his best friends. Not anyone else and their ridiculous over reactions.  
  
Amy closed her eyes and pictured exactly what would happen if she punched Tony right now. Odds were they would end up destroying the restaurant and that wasn’t fair to the owners or the staff. It would be better if she just left.  
  
“Goodbye Tony.” She had herself under control enough to stand fluidly and drift away from him without looking back. She was a goddess, graceful in all things.  
  
*****  
  
“Sam!” Brian half ran to catch up with him in the parking lot. They needed to talk. They _needed_ to talk.  
  
Sam sighed. He should have expected Brian to follow him. Ghosting someone never worked out as well as you hoped it would. “Look Brian. You don’t need to explain. Ayame is a great girl. Any guy would be luck to date her.”  
  
“Yeah, they would.” Brian agreed. He grabbed Sam’s shoulder and squeezed. “But I’m not, and I don’t want to. The only person I want to date right now is the one guy who won’t take my calls.”  
  
“Yeah well. I sort of assumed Aims got you in the breakup.” Sam shrugged and shifted defensively. He hadn’t wanted to deal with the actual break up part. Ghosting had seemed like a better option.  
  
“She’s one of my best friends, and I’m not going to drop her just because she isn’t talking to your friend. But she doesn’t get to dictate who I date." Brian slid his hands down Sam’s arms and took his hands." Can I call you?”  
  
Sam shifted embarrassed. He ran his thumb over the back of Brian’s hand. It was a good hand, soft despite the shooting callouses. It fit nicely in his. “If you still want to.”  
  
Brian leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. “I really want to.”  
  
A grin spread across Sam’s face. He had missed Brian the last few weeks. It would be nice to have someone he could call who would understand what was going on in his life. “You think you’re going to get to top because I’ve been a jerk.”  
  
Brian laughed and stepped even closer so he could whisper in Sam’s ear. There he was. The playful boy who had caught his eye at Christmas. “Or I think I’m going to bottom so I can win you back.”  
  
“Fuck.” Sam moaned pressing his head into Brian’s neck. How had he forgotten how good it was to date another switch. He missed Brian for so many reasons… Not all of them related to the fact he was regretting wearing jeans right now. “Dinner tonight?”  
  
“Depends.” Brian purred evilly. He loved how easy it was to make Sam react like that. No one had ever really spoiled him before. Brian had plans to rectify that. “Do you have a hotel, or do I need to find us somewhere private?”  
  
“Fuck.” Sam swore again and kissed Brian hard. He was a sucker for that look. They would talk over dinner. It wasn’t fair to cut Bri off just because things hadn’t worked out with their friends.  
  
*****  
  
Brain was having a very hard time maintaining a professional face this morning. Thankfully no one in the officer’s mess would judge him for smiling. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood for the last day of joint training… Almost everyone. Ayame had a table to herself in the corner, her feet on a second chair, her fingers drumming on the table. Her brother and his team forming a buffer between her seething energy and the rest of the room. Brian clapped Matt on the shoulder juggling a breakfast tray with an extra serving on it in his other hand. He wasn’t scared of Ayame in a bad mood, and someone needed to feed her.  
  
“Someone had a good night.” Amy said accepting the tea he passed her.  
  
Brian lifted his mug in an ironic salute. It had been a great night. He and Sam had talk until almost midnight… mostly talked, a few more fun interludes. Sam had been working and hadn’t even talked to Steve since the thing with his charity. Brain had filled him in without expressing an opinion. Sam had appreciated his candour. Things were good between them again. Great even. Not that he wanted to rub that fact in Ayame’s face. The way she was lounging in her chair was only an imitation of her relaxed confidence. “I heard you trashed the kitchen.”  
  
Amy rolled her eyes. She had needed to break something when she had made it back to the base. Conveniently they brought in extra dishes for Joint Training Week. She had gone through an entire crate of cheep ceramic plates and mugs before she had worked through her frustration. It had been necessary though, she had hand to hand combat training scheduled for today. If she had let herself stay irritable, she wouldn’t have been able to trust herself not to break something more important than dishes. Like some collar bones. Clavicles made such a lovely cracking noise when they snapped. “What, did someone stop you on your way back in?”  
  
Brian wiggled his phone in explanation. “Group text with a video of the private seeing what he had to clean up for the first time.”  
  
“Are you on that too?” Amy didn’t feel guilty. Dishes weren’t people. It didn’t matter if they broke. “He overreacted. I made sure all the mugs were empty first.”  
  
“It is good to see you are handling this all in a mature and well-adjusted manner.” Brian leaned back in his chair to get a good look at her. She had been prickly yesterday. Less like the happy relaxed women from the last few months. More like the sharp-edged fighter he had known before. Too much like the Ayame he had first met.  
  
Today was even worse than yesterday. Today not only was her lightness gone, her eyes were hollow. This was the same Ayame who had moved in with him. Dropped off at his country house like a petulant child at boarding school. That Ayame had sat perfectly still when she wasn’t fighting or training. Sparks flashing in her eyelashes and crackling erratically over her skin. Twitching anytime anyone got close to her.  
  
There were no errant sparks this morning, but the unnatural stillness was there. He hadn’t seen her like this in years. “Are you doing the thing?”  
  
“I’m not doing the thing.” Amy bristled defensively. She might be rattled, but she wasn’t so off balance that she had lost control of her powers. “Stark got under my skin is all. He basically accused me of fucking you the entire time Steve and I were together.”  
  
“Lucky for you Sam doesn’t think that and Steve trusts Sam.” Brain and Sam had talked about what had happened with their friends a lot last night. They had needed to if they wanted to work through what had happened with their relationship. He wondered if it would help her to know that Steve apparently broke whatever he was holding anytime her name came up.  
  
It didn’t matter if Sam didn’t believe it. It only mattered that Tony could think it at all. If people that close to Steve couldn’t see how much she cared for him… She really was better on her own. “I’m just so _done_.”  
  
“I know Goddess. I know. What now?” Brian asked lifting the steaming liquid to his lips. It would take time, but Ayame would find her light again.  
  
Amy shrugged. That she had an answer for at least. “Go home. Live the rest of my life.”  
  
Brian nodded sometimes it was that easy. Together they took long drinks of their tea.  
  
Both spit it out as soon as they tasted it. “Fuck. That is bloody awful. How do they drink this?”  
  
Amy shoved the mug away. It got worse every year. She should have brought her own. “They don’t. They drink the coffee.”  
  
“Is that any better?” Brian glared down at the mahogany liquid.  
  
“Nope.” Amy said leaning back in her chair. It was time to get back to her real life. It had been fun while it lasted, but it had always been a fantasy. It was time to get back to her real life. Captain America had no place in her real life.


	56. Friends also tell you when you are being an Idiot

Steve padded in from the pool exhausted. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he had spent swimming laps. The last few days had passed in a kind of haze. He hadn’t done any productive work in a week. Every time he tried, the hardness of Amy’s eyes the last time he had seen her swam into his mind. How had everything gone sideways so fast? One week she had been his biggest champion. The next she had walked away without looking back. How had he missed the signs that she didn’t care about him as much as he cared about her?  
  
His dreams weren’t helping at all. The nightmares had come back with a vengeance. The falling. The ice. The civilians dying in front of him. And now a new addition, Bucky trying to protect Amy from him, he'd had several variations on that one since the night he'd woken Sam up.  
  
The only people he had wanted to talk to about it were both in the field. Sam on the west coast doing something military with Tony and Rhody. Natasha was who knows where. Swimming laps had felt like the best way to avoid resentful glares from Wanda or statistical probabilities for his future romantic prospects from Vision. He wanted sympathy from Sam and clinical analysis from Nat. They would be back soon. They had to be back soon. They had a mission as a team.  
  
He discovered the answer to his prayers in the rec room. Sam and Nat. Just back from their missions. Lounging on opposite ends of the couch both sipping beers.  
  
“Hey big man.” Sam patted the cushion next to him. Steve looked just as rough as he had expected. Brian had given him a rough summary of what had happened while he was away. Just facts, Bri had clearly been trying not to take sides. The facts had left Sam firmly on Steve’s side. Why would she show up at the board meeting? The charity was Steve’s baby. She was cruel to twist the knife like that.  
  
Steve dropped onto the couch between Sam and Natasha. These were his people. They would understand. “It’s over. Amy resigned from the board. We won’t run into each other…. Maybe in the field but I don’t know how to avoid that.”  
  
“Amy willingly resigned?” Nat asked confused. The plan had been for Amy to give him some time to cool down and then they would talk about everything. Now Steve was sure they were never going to see each other again. Something had happened. This was what she got for going away. Steve made stupid decisions and Amy ran away from her emotions.  
  
Steve accepted the beer Sam passed him with a sigh. “It was her idea. She made me ask, but I assume that was a formality.”  
  
Nat frowned and made a disapproving noise. She would bet any money on Steve having jumped to conclusions and Amy giving him exactly what he asked for. If there were two more emotionally stunted people in this world…. She was probably friends with them too come to think of it. Being an Avenger didn’t exactly attract emotionally healthy people. Neither did professional assassination.  
  
Steve ignored her, taking another swig of his beer. It didn’t have any inebriating effects on him, but the taste was comforting. “I just wish she had been able to really love me.”  
  
“I get it man. It sucks when you’re more into them than they’re into you.” Sam clapped him on the back companionably.  
  
There was a pause, Sam and Steve both waiting for Natasha to join in the commiseration.  
  
Natasha looked between them incredulous. Ayame was one of her best friends and Steve was being an idiot again. “No. No, I’m not going to be on your side this time. You are an idiot. Ending things with Aims without even trying to talk it out…” She stormed away from the men. Idiots. She was surrounded by stubborn idiots.  
  
Steve watched her go, confused. What did Nat mean she wasn’t on his side? She was always on his side. Sometimes she showed affection using methods he found morally grey… But she was on his side. “What got into her?”  
  
Sam shrugged. Who knew what was going on with in the head of the ‘Black Widow’? She wasn’t just a closed book. She was a book locked in a safe at the bottom of a well. “Probably hits close to home. I mean Nat isn’t exactly the warmest fish. You know what I mean.”  
  
*****  
  
Nat found Amy in one of the dojo’s private rooms. The same room that they had spared in before Kiki's wedding. Most of the equipment had been cleared away. Leaving Amy in the centre of an empty space. Nat watched her float through her sword cuts at half speed, movements precise and perfect.  
  
Pattern finished, Amy rolled out her shoulders. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to spar with me?”  
  
Nat dropped her bag next to Amy’s and drew out a set of fighting sticks. “Why else would I be here?”  
  
Amy traded her sword for a long staff and took up a place at the centre of the room. Thank gods Nat was here. She wouldn’t have to hold back against Nat. Maybe a few good rounds of sparing would help her clear her mind and focus.  
  
Two hours and four sustained rounds of combat later, they broke apart panting. Natasha had one three of the rounds, exploiting openings in Ayame’s guard where she was reckless. And she was being very reckless. Amy’s self control was obviously hanging by a thread. Nat wondered who was going to get hurt when that thread snapped. Probably herself. Possibly a disreputable world leader if Dai was looking after her.  
  
Amy was reckless. Steve was anxious. Her best friends were tearing themselves apart for no good reason as far as she could see. And there wasn’t much Nat could do about it. Nat returned her sticks to her gear bag with a sigh. “I don’t like being stuck in the middle.”  
  
“Think of it as expanding your social circle. Now you have two friend groups instead of one.” Amy stripped off her sweat soaked shirt, rubbing it over the back of her neck and tossing it neatly into her bag. Her sports bra followed it. Clean clothes always helped improve her state of mind.  
  
Nat turned to her friend a snarky reply dying on her tongue when she spotted Amy’s tattoo. She had changed it when she had refreshed it. A rope wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Nat knew there was symbolism there, but it wasn’t what had stopped her in her tracks. A star had been added above the Fox’s head, stark white, almost glowing against Amy’s skin. A north star. A north star with five points. It was unmistakable. “Aims… shit, how did he not see.”  
  
“I had a bandage over it. It hadn’t healed yet.” Amy dropped her eyes, suddenly deeply engrossed in finding her bralette in her bag. “You know how healing tattoos look. It would only have worried him. Besides, I didn’t do it for him. I did it for me.”  
  
“You have to show him.” Nat crossed her arms over her chest. They really were perfect for each other. Especially, if you went solely by how idiotically stubborn they were. Amy had proof. Proof right there, inked into her skin. Proof that she loved Steve. And she wasn’t using it.  
  
“No.” Amy pulled a shirt over her head, hiding the tattoo. Nat was right. It would change his mind. For now. Then the next thing would happen. And he would question her feelings all over again. He would remember that she was trained to lie and seduce and think that this was just a tool in her arsenal. They would do this over and over and Amy’s heart wouldn’t be able to handle it.  
  
Nat sat on the bench next to Amy’s gear bag so she could see her friends face. Hundreds of tiny twitches gave away most people’s thoughts. With an assassin as skilled as Amy you were lucky if you got two or three. “Why not?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter.” Amy closed her bag violently. She hated everything about the situation. “Run the scenario. He thinks I don’t love him. That I was just using him. I show up having made a big gesture to prove I do love him. Only it doesn’t prove I love him. It proves I want him to think I love him. Once the doubt is there it is almost impossible to get rid of. I’d spend the rest of our lives trying to show him and it would never quite stick.”  
  
“Okay. But still.” Nat wanted to shake her friend until she stopped being so silly. It might take him time. But Steve knew a fact when he saw one. If they would just put all their cards on the table and _talk_ about it.  
  
“I can’t be what he wants Nat. I told him that and he didn’t believe me. I won’t throw my life away pretending until I prove myself right.” Amy was past crying. At least that was what she was telling herself. All she could be was what she was. She wasn’t a sweet little political wife, juggling charity meetings and fundraisers. She was a bright-eyed Fox. She was made to stand behind the throne and that’s what she was going to do.  
  
“Because you don’t love him?” Nat asked sceptically. She had seen a lot of people who said they were in love. Very few of them did as much to show it as Amy did for Steve.  
  
Amy closed her eyes. She had bent over backwards to make herself into what a man she loved wanted her to be once, and it had broken her. She couldn’t do it again. “Because I won’t, if I have to fake being someone I’m not for him.”  
  
Nat nodded, considering. She needed a way to show Amy that she was thinking logically not practically. Something in Amy’s bag caught her attention. “Can I see your fan for a moment?”  
  
Amy fished her folding fan out of her bag distractedly. Her mind was spiralling, clutching at everything she could have done differently. All the little things that could have changed this outcome. She should have made him spend more time with Peggy. Or talked to him about why she couldn’t marry him before he started thinking it was a good idea. “I know it is a little warm in here. The pavilion is bet-“  
  
Natasha smacked Amy on the shoulder with the folded fan before she could finish her sentence. “You. Idiot. Why. Would. You. Just. Leave.” Nat punctuated her sentence with a swat from the fan between each word. “Seriously if you had just waited him out…. Anyway, you’re both idiots but I still love you.”  
  
“Are you done?” Amy nodded at the fan.  
  
Nat flipped it in her hand and offered it back. “I’m done.”  
  
Amy took it and tossed it into her bag. “Good. Dai will have set out lunch. You can distract him. I’m tired of having him fret over how much I’m eating.”  
  
*****  
  
Having a guest didn’t do as much to distract Dai as Amy might have hoped. He still hovered over her adding an extra scoop of rice and refilling her tea several time. He didn’t let the conversation suffer. Keeping up a dialog with Nat on the upcoming Indonesia election through it all. Nat’s phone buzzed. She peeked at the screen while Dai argued with Amy about her seaweed salad.  
  
SW: Where are you? We are supposed to be wheels up in two hours and I can’t find you. Steve is freaking.  
  
N: Already over here. Waiting on you now.  
  
Nat sighed and shoved her phone back in her pocket. They had a mission in Vietnam, after that she would see what she could do. “I have to take care of this.”  
  
*****  
  
It took next to no time for Nat to do her pre-flight checks. The jets Tony had upgraded were smart enough that they took care of large parts of that work on their own. All Nat had to do was confirm a few readings and make a visual inspection of the outside. She stopped on her way back into the plane. Amy had followed her. Eyes shadowed and a fingering the hilt of her sword she looked almost lost. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Amy bit her lip. She had to be sure she and Nat were on the same page. The last thing she needed was her friend 'helping' her and undoing all the recovery she had managed in the last week. “Don’t tell him.”  
  
Nat frowned. “I won’t. But I think you should.”  
  
Amy shook her head. She should have learned how to lock her heart away a long time ago. She might as well start now. “Come back to visit, and feel free to bring Wanda back if she needs to get away.”  
  
“I’m going to go out to Clint’s for the fourth of July. You should come. Laura makes the best ribs.” Nat said softly. She didn’t have enough good friends to lose one over this.  
  
“I’m busy on the Fourth.” Amy wouldn’t meet Nat’s eyes. She was busy. Or she would be. She just had to figure out what exactly she was busy with. There were lots of things she had been ignoring in favour of spending time in the Sates. All she had to do was pick one.  
  
“Of course, you are.” A final hug and Nat board the plane. Steve was being an idiot, but Amy was being a coward. She needed to get over her fear of her own emotions. Nat couldn’t force them to figure their shit out though. They had to get themselves together on their own.  
  
“This doesn’t affect your standing here _kumo_. The Aunts still love you. Nothing has to change on that front.” Amy called after her. She didn’t want to lose her friend. Natasha hadn’t done anything wrong.  
  
Nat stopped in the door of the plane, hand on the button that would raise the ramp. “I’ll call you when I’m back in New York. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”  
  
“When am I not?” Amy managed an evil smirk. It even reached most of the way to her eyes.


	57. Feelings aside. Eyes on the Prize

Natasha bounced up the rear ramp of the Quin Jet bag over one shoulder. She was glad she had gone to check on Amy. More information was always better. At least now she knew what was going on with both her crazy stubborn friends.  
  
“You’re late.” Steve growled without looking up from the map he was holding.  
  
Natasha ignored his gruffness. Dropping her gear bag and fluffing Wanda's hair affectionately. She might be late, by five minutes given the state of the jet, but she was also ready. “I was busy.”  
  
“Busy in Japan.” He tried to keep the accusation out of his voice, but knew he didn’t manage it.  
  
Natasha rolled her eyes. Was that his problem? That she had been with Amy? She wasn’t about to apologise for that. He would thank her for not abandoning her friend once he got over himself and started actually thinking about things. Amy might be convinced that it was over, but Nat suspected that she and Steve would be able to work this out. They just had to think rationally and communicate. “She is my friend. And if you would just talk to her-“  
  
“I’m not going to talk to her.” Steve snapped. She had essentially lied to him for months. Stringing him along with no intention of ever spending her life with him. “I’m not going to keep dating someone who doesn’t care as much about me as I do about her.”  
  
Natasha bit her tongue. Wanda was watching them wide eyed. She obviously didn’t like when her leaders fought. Even Sam was shooting them anxious looks as he checked his wings. Now was not the right time for this discussion. They had a target to arrest. Steve’s relationship incompetence could wait until they got home. “Let’s not argue in front of the children.”  
  
Steve shook the tension out of his hands as he walked over to Sam. At least Sam was on his side.  
  
Natasha fixed a calm confident expression on her face. Mission first. Personal matters later. Right now, she needed to be a good mentor. Turning away from Sam and Steve she focused her attention on Wanda. “First big mission. Are you ready?”  
  
Wanda took a deep breath. She was nervous, but this was what she had been training to do. “I think so.”  
  
“Don’t think. Know.” Natasha checked the younger woman’s preparations with quick efficient hands. She was ready for this. Keeping her wrapped in cotton wool wasn’t doing her any favours in the long run. Better for her to get experience when the world wasn’t about to end, and they absolutely couldn’t do without her.  
  
Wanda took a deep breath. She could do this. “I’m ready.”  
  
“Good. You’re going to do great.” Natasha kissed her forehead and pointed her towards the door.  
  
“Any last-minute advice?” Wanda asked smoothing her jacket over her hips.  
  
Natasha smirked wickedly. Time to get her own mission face on. “Don’t disappoint me.”  
  
*****  
  
Infiltrating the pharmaceutical factory went well. Finding the main server and downloading information they needed went well. Nothing went sideways until they cornered their target scientist and his bodyguard outside the factory floor.  
  
The bodyguard emptied most of a clip in their direction. Two bullets pinged off Steve’s shield, the rest buried themselves in the wall behind them without hitting anything.  
  
Natasha shoved Wanda behind a machine. A sharp glare made it clear she wanted the younger women to stay down until she and Steve sorted this out. No point in her getting shot while they were negotiating.  
  
Steve stepped forward. “Surrender.” Behind him her heard the distinctive click of Natasha cocking her gun in preparation.  
  
“No, I don’t think we will.” It was the bodyguard that spoke. Not the scientist. That surprised Steve. They had largely written the bodyguard off as a nonentity. Definitely involved, but not the one making the plans.  
  
Steve squared his shoulders, shifting his shield slightly so it covered Natasha as she covered him. “Do you really think you’re going to get away?”  
  
“I think Captain America has a hard choice to make. One scientist you don’t agree with, or close to 100 innocent workers who just wanted to feed their families.” The bodyguard guard clicked the button and dragged his charge away from the building. It was obvious he had no intention of making this easy for them.  
  
Explosions sounded inside the factory. Pillars and walls crumbled. Steve rushed to brace the main support beam. There was no choice. Not really.  
  
The bodyguard sprinted for the cover of the forest, dragging his scientist along with him.  
  
Natasha made eye contact with Steve. What he needed was obvious on his face. They had been friends and team mates long enough for her to know what his instinct in this situation would be. She scrambled through the half-collapsed door and started hauling panicked workers out of the building.  
  
Steve made another snap decision. Capturing their target was important, just not as important as saving the civilians. He and Nat couldn’t do everything themselves. This was why they had extra teammates. “Sam, Wanda, stick with them. We're right behind you.”  
  
Wanda tossed him a loose salute and took off after their targets. Captain America thought she could do this. The Black Widow thought she could do this. She could do this.  
  
*****  
  
The chase led her through a stretch of jungle and into a scraggly field with a broad ditch cutting across it. The bodyguard jolted to a stop a few feet from the end of what looked like a ruined bridge. The scientist skidded into his back.  
  
“Stop. You are under arrest.” Wanda called emerging from the trees. Red wisps of energy coiling around her hands and forearms.  
  
The bodyguard sneered. “I really have no intention of being captured. Especially not by the baby Avenger.” Something dully metallic flashed in his hand. A metallic oblong landing a few feet from Wanda.  
  
Fear and recognition struck her at the same time. A grenade. She should have thought. Of course, someone who used explosives once would use them again.  
  
Wanda threw her hands above her head. Her power forming a protective shield in front of her. The concussion wave knocked her and the bubble back. She landed with a gasp. She was fine... Why was her side wet?  
  
*****  
  
Hot sticky blood had started to leak out from under the bandage on Wanda’s side. Sam had his head down applying pressure and trying to keep her stable. Wanda had protected her front from shrapnel, she had forgotten to shield her back. The explosion had launched her into a fallen tree. The shattered branch that had punctured her side seemed to have missed everything important, but Sam didn’t want to try pulling it out in the field. Two inches of protruding jagged hardwood made for a tricky dressing. Try as he might he just couldn’t get the seeping to stop.  
  
At the other end of the stretcher Steve was trying to distract Wanda from the pain, and keep her conscious so they could monitor her. And distract himself from the hot ball of panic growing in his gut. He hated when anyone on his team got hurt. And Wanda was just a kid.  
  
She reminded him too much of the scrappy young resistance fighters from the war. How many of them had bled out under his hands? How many had gone on missions that he had approved of and not come back? She was too young for all of this. They should have found her something safe to do. It was a struggle to keep his face calm, but it was all he could do for her at this point.  
  
Sam bumped the stick and swore. Wanda whimpered. What little colour was left draining from her face.  
  
Steve squeezed her hands. “Stay with me baby girl. Everything is going to be alright. Just Stay with me.” He pressed the transmit button on his radio, careful to turn away from Wanda when he spoke. “Nat how is that hospital coming.”  
  
“Ten minutes out.” Nat’s voice was calm over the headset.  
  
*****  
  
Steve froze at the foot of the ramp. Katsura. Nat had brought them to Katsura. He would have realised if he hadn’t been so distracted. It was secure. It was well equipped. Wanda would feel safe here.  
  
A whimper from Wanda’s stretcher reminded him why he had been distracted. He hurried back to her side. Reaching her the same time the medical team did. “Don’t worry baby girl, they’re going to take care of you.”  
  
*****  
  
Steve watched as the doctors bustled around Wanda’s hospital bed. “I can’t stand here and watch this.”  
  
“So, don’t.” Natasha’s knuckles were white at her sides. “Take a walk. I’ll stay.”  
  
Steve shook his head. How could he even think about walking away at a time like this. “I should stay. This is my fault.”  
  
“This isn’t your fault Steve. This was a calculated risk that didn’t pay off.” Nat closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She should have made Wanda help with the civilians while she went after the target. “Take a walk. Calm down. She will need you to be her captain in the morning.”  
  
Steve opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. The gardens here always relaxed him. A walk might help.  
  
Once he was out of sight Natasha started pacing fretfully. Wanda would be fine. The doctors here were great. Aside from radiation poisoning, there was very little they couldn’t handle. There was no reason to be this worried. People got hurt in their line of work. It happened. Natasha had finished missions with worse than a broken rib and a minor puncture wound. It hadn’t even hit any vital organs. Wanda would be fine. There was no reason to be worried. So why was she so worried.  
  
There was a stir down the hallway. The few lingering members of the staff scattered before Amy’s advancing form. Nat let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Trust Amy to show up moments after Steve left.  
  
Amy opened her arms and Natasha stepped into them. The hug helped. Nat squeezed her friend hard. “Is it always this hard when they’re young?”  
  
“Yes. I want to say it gets easier, but when Yuma broke her wrist, I almost had a panic attack.” Amy said breaking the hug and giving Nat a quick once over in case she was injured and ignoring until she knew her team was safe. Not that Amy had ever done that. Well maybe once.  
  
Amy peaked in the door at Wanda’s sleeping form. “Is she going to be alright?”  
  
“It’s more shock than anything.” Nat let out a long breath. Knowing Amy had reacted the same way helped. “I’d like us to stay the night though. If that’s alright…. Steve’s with us.”  
  
“I know. You can stay as long as you need to. I’m leaving.” Amy Squeezed Nat's arms reassuringly. She would never cast them out in the cold. She also couldn’t risk staying. She couldn’t handle another confrontation with Steve. Not after last time. And she couldn’t handle being here with him without _being with him_.  
  
“Where are you going?” Nat asked leaning against the door frame. Amy was looking better than she had when Nat had left yesterday. Still not great but better. Maybe the field would be good for her.  
  
Amy’s hand drifted to her sword hilt. The rough texture of the sharkskin was soothing. She could handle anything with a sword in her hand. She was like the sword. Unfeeling. A weapon to be welded for the good of the empire. It was that simple. As long as she didn’t complicate her life with feelings it was simple. “Don’t know yet. I hear good things about the former Soviet Union this time of year.”  



	58. Everyone Has a Little More Tea to Spill

Steve wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when he ended up in the entrance to the Fox pavilion, but somehow it still was. He couldn’t say what possessed him to go inside. The building held so many bittersweet memories for him these days.  
  
The air inside was cool. The building had an air of abandonment to it. Steve had never been here without the subtle sense of Amy somewhere in the vicinity. Even when she wasn’t in the building, she was a presence here. Today the hall echoed hollowly as her stepped inside.  
  
He wandered lost through the ground floor. He almost wished she was here. He would love one of her neck rubs right now. Or even just a cup of tea and someone understanding to sit beside while he waited for news.  
  
Steve stopped in the door to the office. It was dark, the contents of Amy’s desk stacked neatly. Ōjo was curled on a closed laptop. Amy always reset her desk before she left, so she wasn’t confronted with a mess when she got back. His own desk was still there. The surface empty, it had a desolate air that felt like a slap in the face. “She’s not here…”  
  
“Not if you are. Can’t really blame her.” Dai’s voice behind him made Steve jump. He didn’t miss being surrounded by people who didn’t make any noise when they moved. Natasha was bad enough.  
  
Steve turned back to the empty room. There was no chance Dai was on his side. Not if Nat wasn’t. “No, I suppose it must be awkward to hang out around the guy who thought you loved him for over a year.”  
  
“Interesting.” Dai looked sideways at Steve. Amy had said he hated her. Not that he thought she didn’t love him. Maybe he should have pressed for more details when Amy first arrived home. This changed things. Not enough for him to forgive Steve, but enough that he would hold off on punching the larger man…. For now. “Do you really think she doesn’t love you? Because she never said those words in that order?”  
  
“What else am I supposed to think?” Steve spat back. Dai didn’t answer just tipped his head to the other side considering. “What?”  
  
“Nothing just....” Dai gestured vaguely as his words faded off. Dai had thought it was obvious that Ayame was madly in love with Steve. She might not say it. She thought words had power, and they had been used against her before. But she showed it is so many ways. Big and small. How could anyone not see it?  
  
“Just what?” Steve asked. He was frustrated. His teammate was hurt. He couldn’t do anything about it. Ghosts of Amy kept looking at him with disappointed eyes. She was everywhere and nowhere in this building. And now Daisuke was here being needlessly cryptic.  
  
Well if he was going to be aggressive about this Dai was going to make the realisation _hurt_. Amy had forbidden him from defending her physically. But there was nothing to stop him from pointing a few things out. Nothing that Steve didn’t already know. Nothing that wasn’t _obvious_. He could just walk Steve through some simple problem solving. “How many desks are in this room?”  
  
“Two.”  
  
“And how many where there the first time you were here?” Dai asked quickly.  
  
“One.”  
  
Dai felt a bubble of savage glee raise in his stomach. One more basic fact and he should be able to figure this particular gesture out. “And where do I sit when I have work to do?”  
  
Steve hesitated. This was starting to feel like a trap. “At the end of Amy’s desk....”  
  
“I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.” Dai said checking his phone. Amy’s plane was safely in the air.  
  
Dai looked back up. Amy was safe. He could take his time making Steve suffer for what he had done to her. “Oh. Can you settle an argument for me and Matt. Does Amy snore? We can’t ask anyone else because she still won’t sleep in the same room as another person.”  
  
“That’s....” Steve’s started to snap but drifted off. What was he going to say? That’s none of your business. That’s not fair. That’s not the point. Steve’s mind was scrambling to hold on to its certainty under this onslaught.  
  
Dai cut him off. Steve’s actual answer wasn’t important. As long as he remembered the facts. So many facts. So, damning to his ridiculous theory. “She left in the middle of a mission to come bale you out last spring, right? Just trying to line up some facts. I’m having a terrible time thinking of the last time she did something like that. Probably because she never has. Not even for the bastard. She always finished what she started before starting the next task.”  
  
“Yeah she.... She did.” That definitely wasn’t fair. She said that they had finished everything important and clean up always bored her. That her team could handle the rest on their own. That at that moment he needed her more than they did.  
  
“Interesting.” Dai kept his wicked grin internal. His outward expression smooth. Things were starting to click for Steve. How many more pieces would it take before the whole thing came crashing down? This called for a lighter tone. He didn’t want to make him _angry_, just wanted him to realise what he had thrown away. “Hey how did your Sesame Street thing go? The one Amy cancelled on _me_ to be there for, she missed Fredrick’s collection launch. She always makes a point of being there to support us through those. Always.”  
  
Steve bristled. Had he known that? That Amy had cancelled on Dai to be there for him. No, he couldn’t have. It didn’t even sound true. Amy would do anything for Dai. He was the person she loved most in this world. “It was fine.”  
  
“That’s good. Interesting I’m sure. Lots of things are interesting.” The corner of Dai's mouth twitched. This was fun. It had been too long since he had indulged in something so petty.  
  
It took Steve a moment to realise that at some point in their conversation, Dai had gotten them moving and they were at the door to the pavilion now. His back stiffened. This was definitely a trap of some kind. What was he missing? “Where are you going with this Dai?”  
  
“I’m not going anywhere with it. Like I said just getting some facts in order.” Dai demurred leading Steve back into the grounds. He stopped a kimono clad figure as she scurried by. “Hikarai Chan. The Captain will be staying at the big house tonight. Make sure he is close to the Maximoff girl and that he has everything he needs.”  
  
Dai turned on his heel and walked away without saying goodbye. That should be enough food for thought to keep him busy for a while. He would have like to see the moment when Steve broke and realised he was an idiot who had broken Amy's heart for nothing, but that would take time and Dai had other work to do.  
  
Steve watched him go. The big house. Not his room here. He didn’t have a room of his own here he reminded himself. He had slept in one of the generic guest spaces on his first visit and Amy’s room ever since. There were those generic guest rooms, but Dai wanted him in the big house. Maybe Dai was putting him up there so he would be close to his injured team member. Or maybe he had lost his place here when he lost Amy.  
  
*****  
  
Yuma slid the door to the hospital suite open silently. She had gossip to share and a friend who could use a distraction. A perfect combination. “Are you awake?”  
  
Wanda stirred at the sound of her friend's voice. She was sore all over. Her muscles ached. Her side felt like it was on fire. “Yes, and it sucks.”  
  
“Would sipping some tea help?” Yuma asked closing the door behind her. She had waited for the nurse to complete her rounds for the night. It was unlikely anyone would interrupt them as long as they were quiet.  
  
“Literal tea or….” A hot drink sounded like it would make her side throb even more. Some distracting drama might have the opposite effect.  
  
“Metaphorical tea.” Yuma hopped onto the foot of the bed and folded her legs under herself. “The juiciest drama went down while you were out, and I am _dying_ to tell someone.”  
  
“Tell me everything! Is there a way to make this bed sit up?” If Yuma was this excited it had to be really good drama. Was Nat eloping with one of the team leads? Had Sam spilled his drink on the empress? Had someone punched Steve for breaking things off with Ayame? Wanda fiddled with the bed controls until Yuma took pity on her and leaned forward to help.  
  
“So, Ayame Sama and the Captain still aren’t speaking.” Yuma said as the head of the bed slowly rose.  
  
Wanda waved her had dismissively. Steve was in hot water with most of the females in the compound about that. “Old news”  
  
Yuma rolled her eyes. Of course, it was old news. Did the not have ‘setting the scene' in Sokovia? “The new news is that she left Katsuara almost as soon as you and the Captain arrived. Left _unexpectedly_. She didn’t have any field work planned. There wasn’t an emergency call. She didn’t take anyone with her. In fact, she is supposed to be preparing for the prince and princess' appearance at a festival in two weeks. Instead she just left. And Diasuki Sensei told us not to tell anyone when she left. Only he stressed the word anyone and made it _really_ clear that it was one specific person she didn’t want to know she had left in a hurry. And _then_ the Natasha Sama was like 'men are trash' and said that she didn’t care that the Captain had be exiled to the big house _she_ was going to sleep in her room at the Fox pavilion.”  
  
Wanda frowned. Amy had left without telling her team why. It almost sounded like she was running away. But Amy didn’t run away. “What does it mean?”  
  
“It _means_ that there is still something going on between them and the both Daisuke Sensei and Natasha Sama are on Ayame Sama’s side!” Yuma slapped the bed triumphantly. She had it all figure out. “And Ayame Sama doesn’t hide from anyone, so if she is avoiding the Captain there has to be a reason. _I_ have to wonder if it is related to the fact that she hasn’t bathed in public _or_ taken her shirt of during training in the past month despite the fact she used to do both _all the time_ when they were together.”  
  
“Oh My God. You think Amy is hiding a pregnancy!” Wanda hissed, smacking Yuma in the shoulder. It fit everything fit. Why Nat was so pissed with Steve. Why Amy had been avoiding them all. Why Steve seemed so conflicted every time she came up.  
  
Yuma sat back smugly. “I think that is one explanation.”  
  
“As usual child you have failed to grasp the subtleties of the information at hand.” A cool voice sounded from the doorway. “Do you really think that if my niece was pregnant with the next bright-eyed Fox, she would keep it a secret? Or that we would allow her to continue her field work with such precious cargo? More lessons in deciphering intelligence I think.”  
  
Yuma’s eyes went wide. The Foxes didn’t interact with normal people. Even when they came here to see Ayame they hardly spoke with anyone else. “If you think it is for the best _Kazoku_.”  
  
Yuuki tapped her fan against her hand, considering. “Does my niece allow you such impertinence?”  
  
That Yuma had an answer for. “She let’s me get away with absolute murder ma'am.”  
  
Yuuki let a tiny smile tug at the corner of her mouth. “As she should. I didn’t come here just to chastise you though. Natasha Chan asked that I check on you and ensure that you knew that your mission succeeded despite your accident. Your Vision finished what was started and will join you in the morning for your journey home.”  
  
“He’s not my Vision.” Wanda muttered suddenly very interested in her hands.  
  
“As you prefer.” Yuuki patted her leg affectionately. This new generation was very promising. She looked forward to seeing what they would be capable of once they were trained up. “Mind my words Yuma Chan. Remember context when interpreting information.”  
  
“Yes _Kazoku_.” Yuma bowed respectfully as the elegant woman drifted from the room. The lady had come because _Natasha_ had asked? If Ayame had asked her to check in Yuma would have understood. But it sounded like the Foxes were treating Natasha as family. That was a mystery for another day.  
  
*****  
  
It was Samurai that met them in the morning. He and Natasha met Steve at his bedroom door, escorted him straight to the hospital with and a largely recovered Wanda, from there they all trooped to the air strip. There was no need for them to enter Katsura proper again. No one else from Amy’s team joined them.  
  
Steve tried to ignore the deliberate snub. Dai was probably busy doing something for Amy. They didn’t need a formal farewell, there was no reason to expect Dai or anyone else to see them off.  
  
“Thank you for the help.” Steve offered Samurai a handshake. He did still have some manners.  
  
Samurai was reserved as he took the other man's hand. “Wanda is a lovely child. She and Natasha are welcome here any time.”  
  
Steve’s breath caught in his chest. Wanda and Natasha. Not him. He had lost Amy and a sanctuary. They had to know he didn’t hate her. Despite everything, he still thought the world of her. It wasn’t that Amy wasn’t amazing. They just didn’t belong together. “She’ll find someone she can actually love. You know she will.”  
  
Samurai tipped his head and shrugged noncommittally. It wasn’t his place to comment on his commander’s love life. Ayame was a force unto her own. He had a hard time imagining anyone else who would be a match for that force. Certainly, there had never been anyone else who made her want to set aside her obsessions even temporarily. “Have a good life Captain Rogers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now don't be mad. Next week, we've got a prequel and we're going to spend a little time with Peggy, then we're going to jump forward a couple months and find out what everyone is doing in the back ground of Civil War. Steve's going to find his Bucky, Amy's going to... well you'll see. These guys still have a chance at a happy ending.
> 
> Love you guys for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Its Marvel. No one stays dead. Thanks for sticking with me guys. This sections should take us all the way through to civil war. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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